Chen and Gill take stock of the current legal protections unaccompanied children are protected by. They find that there are many challenges that stem from the lack of guaranteed legal representation for children in immigration court. They provide recommendations for policymakers.
Migrants/Immigrants
Accessing Justice: The Availability and Adequacy of Counsel in Immigration Proceedings
The Steering Committee of the New York Immigration Representation Study conducted an evaluation of the quality and quality of immigrant representation in New York. The Steering Committee was convened in 2010 by Judge Robert A. Katzmann of the US Court of Appeals for the Second Court with the Vera Institute of Justice. They conducted a two-year study.
Outcome Evaluation of justice AmeriCorps Legal Services Program
The Vera Institute of Justice to conduct a two-year evaluation of the justice AmeriCorps Legal Services for Unaccompanied Children (jAC) program. The researchers find that for unaccompanied children who receive legal representation through jAC, those children were more likely to obtain positive and successful outcomes than those without legal representation.
Improving the Protection and Fair Treatment of Unaccompanied Children: Recommendations for the Next Administration
This brief presents policy recommendations for the incoming administration, which range from improving border screening practices, improving shelter conditions, increasing access to legal counsel, expedited court procedures and impact on due process, adjudication of children’s immigration and asylum cases, and return and reintegration.
Study Group on Immigrant Representation: The First Decade
In this transcript of a speech, Robert A. Katzmann, Chief Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Court, calls out the “deficient representation” of immigrants in the courts. He calls for competent counsel in deportation proceedings.
