Border Kids

Are Unaccompanied ‘Border Kids’ Now The ‘New Normal’?

December 28, 2015 By CCM Staff

In a story over the Christmas weekend, the Dallas Morning News cited the increase in unaccompanied minors showing up at the United State’s southern border. Along with statistics indicating that the influx has doubled compared to recent years, the story quoted U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner R. Gil Kerlikowske saying “… the concerning part is, are we seeing the new normal?”

The situation has already prompted new shelters, a response from local charities trying to assist families and other efforts.

Read about the new normal here.

Filed Under: Border Kids, Community, Courts Budget Tagged With: access to justice, Border Kids, detention center, family detention center, ICE, immigration, legal access

Private Church Camps Prepare To House ‘Border Kids’

December 11, 2015 By CCM Staff

The Dallas Morning News is reporting that “…. operators of two private camps in Ellis and Rockwall counties are scrambling to get ready for the arrival of at least 800 young immigrants from Central America, part of a recent surge crossing illegally into the U.S. from Mexico.”

Citing government sources, the paper says that about 300 immigrants — ages 12 to 18 — are expected to arrive at Sabine Creek Ranch next week for temporary shelter, and at least 500 children age 17 and under will stay at Lakeview Camp and Retreat Center near Waxahachie and could get there as early as Friday, officials in Ellis County said. At least one camp is run by a religious group.

Immigration detainment, especially of children, has been a controversial issue for months since an inflx of “Border Kids” began showing up on the U.S. border. Typically, they are not “caught” but turn themselves in and request asylum. Read more here.

Filed Under: Border Kids, Community Tagged With: Border Kids, immigration, Legal news, texas border

Govt. Adding More Beds To Handle ‘Border Kids’

December 8, 2015 By CCM Staff

The new surge in unaccompanied children showing up at U.S. borders seeking asylum has prompted the federal government to move toward two new shelters, the New York Times is reporting. The paper says that the government is moving toward “two shelters in Texas and one in California this month, adding at least 1,400 beds to handle the increased flow, senior Obama administration officials said Monday.”

According to a 12/7/15 NYT report, “A United States Border Patrol vehicle at the border wall near Abram, Tex., last month. Credit Delcia Lopez/The Monitor, via Associated Press”

Family detention centers and the unaccompanied youth centers have been controversial and a federal judge has ordered the family shelters closed, although officials hope to work around that order. The Times also notes that “… on Monday, Sylvia Mathews Burwell, the secretary of health and human services, asked the Pentagon to also prepare tentative plans to provide shelter for 5,000 more youths. Those beds are not needed at this time, officials said, but the health department, which runs the shelters, would give the Department of Defense 30 days’ notice to get them ready if the numbers of young border crossers continue to rise.”

Immigration cases are often incorrectly seen as criminal court issues. The “courts” are actually a function of the U.S. Justice Department and those facing actions are classified as civil court participants. One effect of that is they do not have the same rights to counsel as if they were criminally charged.

Read the NYT report here: U.S. to Open Shelters for New Surge of Youths Crossing Southwest Border

Filed Under: Border Kids, Community, National Tagged With: Border Kids, border patrol, border wall, detention, detention centers, family detention centers, immigration

At USC, Law Students Provide Immigration Legal Advice

November 30, 2015 By CCM Staff

Legal assistance for asylum seekers arriving at the U.S. border has been an issue, whether that means trained volunteers or lawyers. How about a legal clinic staffed by law students looking for experience? The University of Southern California student newspaper reports that “… in January, the year-round USC clinic — the only one of its kind among Southern California law schools — will mark its 15th year of offering representation to asylum clients… since 2001, the clinic has taken on more than 170 clients. Approximately 120 of them, one-third of whom identify as LGBT, have received either asylum, withholding of removal or protection under the Convention Against Torture.”

While the Immigration Clinic clients receive life-saving legal representation, its students receive valuable experience.

New Delays Loom As Court Interpreters Seek New Deal

October 27, 2015 By CCM Staff

Less than 15 percent of U.S. Immigration Court proceedings are conducted entirely in English, meaning that interpreters are vital to getting things done. Now, already facing more than 450,000 cases backlogged for years, the immigration justice system may lose many of those language assets. BuzzFeed News is reporting that “… interpreters across the country are refusing to sign on to a new contract to service U.S. immigration courts, citing what they call unacceptably low pay and poor working conditions.

The background in the report: “Immigration courts are part of the executive branch and administered by the Department of Justice. DoJ uses a combination of 67 staff and 1,650 freelance interpreters to ensure that immigrants facing deportation understand the proceedings against them. In July, the Justice Department switched contractors, awarding a new contract for more than $12 million annually to SOSi, according to a database of federal contracts. The contract can be extended five years for a total of about $58 million.

“The contract was initially slated to kick in on September 21, according to DOJ. However, emails to the interpreters from from Lionbridge, the company that currently holds the contract, state that the switch had been deferred to November. Interpreters around the country refused to agree to SOSi’s terms under the new contract because of low pay and ungenerous travel reimbursement and cancellation policies, according to several interpreters interviewed by BuzzFeed News. Because the interpreters are organizing informally, the precise number refusing to sign on is unclear. However, two interpreters in different regions told BuzzFeed News they were each in direct contact with more than 100 interpreters who had refused. On any given day, there are about 300 contract interpreters working for the immigration courts, according to a spokesperson for the courts. That means that about a third of interpreters could be unavailable once the new contract kicks in.”

Read the in-depth story here: Immigration Courts Could Lose A Third Of Their Interpreters

Filed Under: Border Kids, Community, Courts Budget Tagged With: Border Kids, family detention centers, immigration

NY Mayor Predicts Legal Right To Civil Lawyers

October 8, 2015 By CCM Staff

The Wall Street Journal reported (9/29/15) that New York Mayor Bill de Blasio sees “a day not too far away when indigent defendants have a legal right to a lawyer in civil cases.”

He admits that local jurisdictions will need federal help to make it happen, but New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio is predicting that he can “see the day” when indigent defendants have a legal right to a lawyer in civil cases. The mayor was speaking at one of a series of hearings led by New York’s chief appeals judge on the topic of civil legal services. His comments illustrate that New York continues to lead the nation in providing civil attorneys for life-changing cases like eviction and child custody disputes.

The Wall Street Journal is among those reporting on the civil Gideon effort, backgrounding that “… in the landmark 1963 case Gideon v. Wainwright, the Supreme Court recognized an indigent defendant’s right to an attorney in a criminal trial. But the high court has never extended the Sixth Amendment’s guarantee of counsel to civil cases. The story quotes New York State Court of Appeals Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman, who has led the conversation: “We are talking about the necessities, or essentials, of life… we mean the roof over someone’s head, we mean their physical safety, their livelihoods, the well-being of their families, entitlement issues.”

Check out the effort here: New York Mayor Says Right to Counsel in Civil Cases is a Good Idea but Requires Federal Help

Filed Under: Border Kids, National, Profiles, Refugee Children Tagged With: Bill de Blasio, Border Kids, GIDEON V. WAINWRIGHT, immigration, INDIGENT DEFENSE, New York City

Most Immigration Judges Can Retire Now If They Want

October 5, 2015 By CCM Staff

With a Sept. 30 deadline passed, more than half of the United States 247 immigration judges, staffing 58 courts nationwide, are eligible to retire. This as the nation faces an immigration courts backlog of more than 450,000 cases. The Los Angeles Times offers a truly alarming look at the situation, starting with outlining that some judges – who are not actually federal judges but employees of the Justice Department – preside over thousands of cases.

The LAT also notes that “… the U.S. attorney general appoints immigration judges. Officials have already started ‘an aggressive hiring process,’ said Kathryn Mattingly, an immigration court spokeswoman. They have hired 18 judges, five more will start this fiscal year, and they plan to hire an additional 67, she said. Last fiscal year, about 100 judges were eligible to retire, but only 13 did, she said.” But the paper quotes current judges lamenting how much more difficult working conditions have become.

Read the story here: As immigration judges’ working conditions worsen, more may choose retirement

Filed Under: Border Kids, Courts Budget, National Tagged With: access to justice, Border Kids, court rationing, immigration, immigration reform, Judges, judicial retirement

What Should We Call Those Migrant Refugee Immigrants Seeking Asylum?

September 24, 2015 By CCM Staff

Words matter, and the U.S. media has been struggling to settle on what to call all those folks seeking to leave a very bad place in hopes of a better life. Actually, that would not qualify for “refugee” status, which requires a human to be fleeing war zones or natural disasters. Migrant is a wider net, but loses some of the urgency. “Immigration” carries its own weight. Those seeking asylum, with those political overtones, are yet another situation.

The NPR ombudsman offered an on-air outline of how that standards-leading group approaches the wording. The one thing that seems clear is that just leaving a place because it sucks does not gain the benefits of other status.

See the report here: ‘Refugee’ Or ‘Migrant’: How To Refer To Those Fleeing Home

Filed Under: Border Kids, Community, Courts Budget, National Tagged With: asylum, asylum seeker, Border Kids, immigration, political asylum, refugee, Syria

US Increases Cap On Accepting Refugees

September 21, 2015 By CCM Staff

Photo from The New York Times 9/21 article. They report “Migrants in Bregana, Croatia, near the border with Slovenia. Authorities in Slovenia on Sunday were halting migrants at its border with Croatia to the south and allowing them to pass in small groups.”

Secretary of State John Kerry, speaking in Germany, announced that the United States will increase the number of “worldwide” refugees it will accept until it reaches 100,00 per year in 2017. That is up from the current annual cap of 70,000. The move is in reaction to the high-profile crisis involving European migration and there was no conversation about how the than 400,000 pending immigration cases, many of which involve refugee status claims, might be effected.

Read the NYT story here: U.S. Will Accept More Refugees as Crisis Grows

Filed Under: Border Kids, Community, Courts Budget, National Tagged With: Border Kids, European Refu, immigration, ISIS, Middle East, Refugee Crisis, Syria, Syrian Conflict, Syrian Revolution

Civil Rights Report Blasts Family Detention Centers For Asylum Seekers

September 18, 2015 By CCM Staff

A new report released last week by the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, added to the complaints about the U.S. government’s family detention centers that house asylum seekers who entered the country illegally. Reuters is reporting that the group said it found evidence that the federal government “was interfering with the constitutional rights afforded to detained immigrants,” including their access to legal representation.

Reuters offers context: “… a year ago, President Barack Obama responded to a ‘humanitarian crisis’ unfolding on the U.S. southwestern border with Mexico, as tens of thousands of children – some traveling with parents and others alone – arrived from El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras. Among steps he took were a rapid expansion of detention facilities for migrant women and children. It marked a departure from previous practices of largely tracking the immigrants with electronic ankle bracelets and telephone check-ins, which immigration rights groups argued were effective and far less costly.”

Meanwhile, a federal judge in California has ordered the government to close the facilities because they violate a longstanding agreement on how such asylum seekers will be treated. See that story in the L.A. Times here.

Read the Reuters report here.

Filed Under: Border Kids, Community, Courts Budget, National Tagged With: asylum seekers, Border Kids, civil rights, family detention centers, human rights, immigration, U.S. Commission on Civil Rights