The Guardian: “Thousands of migrant children allegedly sexually abused in US custody.”
Almost 5,000 complaints of alleged sexual abuse and harassment of migrant children in US custody have been made since October 2015, according to government documents released last week. The allegations range from adult staff members having relationships with minors to the showing of pornographic videos to forcible touching. Though the reports go back four years, the highest number of sexual abuse and harassment occurred since President Trump took office.
Read moreThe Washington Post: "U.S. will deploy 5,200 additional troops to the Mexican border, officials say"
Department of Homeland Security and Pentagon officials announced Monday that they will send 5,200 troops, military helicopters, and razor wire to the US/Mexican border in advance of the potential arrival of a large group of Central American migrants. This troop deployment, according to the Washington Post, appears to be the “largest U.S. active-duty mobilization along the U.S.-Mexico boundary in decades and amounts to a significant militarization of American border security.”
Read moreThe Atlantic: “The Thousands of Children Who Go to Immigration Court Alone”
Immigration courtrooms in the San Francisco Bay and surrounding areas have seen an increase of “unaccompanied alien children” (UAC) in court for removal proceedings. Most of these children, sometimes as young as four years old, do not have legal representation. In 2017 California had the second highest number of UACs in removal proceedings. While volunteer immigration attorneys, state funding, and organizations that provide legal aid to these immigrant children are more easily accessible in larger cities such as San Francisco, for immigrant children hundreds of miles away in the Central Valley and Fresno County areas, these resources are hard to access. “We’ve seen children from the Central Valley who have been to court four or five times without an attorney,” Katie Annand, managing attorney for the Kids in Need of Defense (KIND) organization, says. “They’ve had to pay $200 each time to get a ride up here for court, so they are coming up to court just to say ‘I don’t have an attorney.’”
Read moreNPR: “Deported Parents Describe Agonizing Wait To Be Reunited With Their Children”
More than three weeks after the court-mandated deadline for all migrant children to be reunited with their families, over 500 children are still separated and in federal custody. More than 360 of these children have parents who have already been removed (deported, as it’s commonly called) from the US. Trump administration officials initially argued that the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and other groups should be responsible for locating these parents; however, US District Judge Dana Sabraw from California ordered the government to take responsibility.
Read moreSaving Their Children
Something of Ourselves
Time: “Children ‘Don’t Need Jail.’ Immigration Advocates Say President Trump’s Executive Order Creates Even More Problems”
Last month President Trump signed an executive order that ends the separation of children from their parents under the zero-tolerance policy, which criminally prosecutes immigrants that cross the border without documentation. While President Trump made it clear that the zero-tolerance policy will remain in effect, the executive order states that it is now the administration’s intention to keep immigrant families together throughout the criminal proceedings process. “I didn’t like the sight or the feeling of families being separated,” Trump said at the signing. “At the same time, we are keeping a very powerful border, but continue to be zero tolerance.”
Read moreThe Washington Post: “’They just took them?’ Frantic parents separated from their kids fill courts on the border”
Under the Trump administration’s “zero-tolerance” policy, federal courts across Texas have become flooded with undocumented immigrant mothers and fathers that have been separated from their children and criminally charged for illegally crossing the US border. This new policy shift has become an increasingly popular tactic amongst border patrol officials as a way to stop undocumented immigrants and their families from entering the US. “If you’re smuggling a child, then we’re going to prosecute you, and that child will be separated from you,” Attorney General Jeff Sessions says. “If you don’t want your child to be separated, then don’t bring him across the border illegally.”
Read moreOPINION: Those in Immigration Court Should Be Provided Legal Assistance Regardless of Ability to Pay
It’s a common scene in any episode of Law & Order: the detective puts the suspect’s wrists in handcuffs while reciting: “You have the right to remain silent, anything you do or say can be used against you in a court of law; you have the right to an attorney, if you cannot afford an attorney, one will be provided to you.” (Emphasis mine.) The recognizable “DUN DUN” then gongs as the show goes to a commercial break. It’d be natural to assume, then, that people in all kinds of legal proceedings should have an attorney provided to them, regardless of their ability to pay. In immigration court, however, this is not always the case, as a recent ruling by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals made clear.
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