One of the things that makes America great is that – in our courts – everyone has the right to be represented competently.
But on a recent show I learned that there’s an entire branch of the judicial system where this is not the case.
It happens to be in the immigration courts, and the people left without representation are the most vulnerable among us – children. Crossing our southern border in a flight from violence in their home countries, they are left without a voice as U.S. authorities decide whether to grant refugee status.
Fortunately, there’s any organization working to remedy that. Since 2009, Kids in Need of Defense has trained more than 10,000 lawyers to offer pro bono support in these cases. The group was founded by actress Angelina Jolie and the Microsoft Corporation.
“They came together in recognition of a critical legal services gap in the United States, which is the thousands of children who arrive alone in the United States each year, these are immigrant and refugee children,” KIND President Wendy Young said to me on-air.
When they are picked up by the Border Patrol, Young said, these children are immediately placed into deportation proceedings. They appear before an immigration judge, but they are not provided with an attorney who can ask for refugee status on their behalf.
“We match these kids with extraordinary volunteer lawyers from across the country from major law firms to provide their time, expertise and resources for free to represent these kids in the proceedings,” she said.
The kids are coming mostly from Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras, Young said. They’re fleeing the violence caused by the organized criminal cartels – including gangs, drug trafficking, human trafficking, gun smuggling.
The gangs, she said, are targeting children as they take over communities, which prompts entire families to flee to the U.S. southern border.
“These are refugees, first and foremost, and they do what refugees do. They run to where they think they’re going to get protection.”
Attorney Andrew Morton of Handler Thayer, LLP, a KIND volunteer and frequent guest on the show, said he understands full well that immigration is a contentious issue and that opinions differ on whether everyone who comes to the U.S. should get a Green Card.
But Kids in Need of Defense, he said, simply focuses on the issue of providing legal representation during the process.
“The tragedy, looking at some of these cases, is seeing the kids who had a legitimate avenue to relief but had no advocate to articulate that position,” he said.
“What we’re trying to do is not necessarily get relief for every kid who comes into the country but have every kid’s case evaluated by a lawyer who understands the law and can figure out whether there is a legitimate avenue for relief.”
Young added that the trauma these children have experienced cannot be overstated, so KIND also works to provide support to help them come to grips with the instability in their lives.
“Our work is extraordinarily hard sometimes, but what’s really encouraging is how many volunteers come to KIND wanting to use their time, their resources, their expertise to help these children,” she said.
This is vital work, and I’m sure there’s a place for you if you’re moved by the plight of these kids. Learn more by visiting supportkind.org.
Click here to listen to the full interview with Wendy Young, president of Kids in Need of Defense, and KIND volunteer Andrew Morton of Handler Thayer, LLP.
