Heartbreaking Video From US Immigration Court: Toddlers and Children Are Forced to Attend Deportation Proceedings Without Lawyers
In the wake of reuniting these children with their families, they are only put through more trauma. The video portrays the confusion and cluelessness these toddlers are in.
The US Immigration 'zero tolerance' policy has separated many children from their parents. Now, these immigrant children have to appear before the courts to plead their cases to avoid deportation. What is a bigger pity is the lack of lawyers made available to represent the cases of the young children, some of them who do not even know what a lawyer means? After having faced the trauma of separation from their parents, these children have to walk alone to the courts to appear before the judge. It is against the federal law to provide a government-appointed lawyer in immigration courts. These children clearly cannot find or fund having a private lawyer to represent their cases.
Donald Trump's immigration policy has separated at least 2,342 from their parents at the border and all of them are subject to the deportation proceedings. The lack of lawyers has come under the basic law as said by Human Rights Watch. "Thousands of children in deportation hearings in the US must stand alone before government lawyers and judges, and try to make their case without a lawyer," said Clara Long, US immigration researcher at Human Rights Watch. These hearings are not easy ones and losing them is potentially dangerous.
Check out the disheartening video of children heading to court alone:
Earlier the crying voices of the separated children caused rage and now videos of the children attending the court alone have surfaced bringing the stark reality. They have now been making a demand to the US Congress to pass the pending bill in which the government requires to appoint lawyers for unaccompanied children and for victims of abuse, torture, or other violence. Unaccompanied minors attending deportation cases is not new but now even toddlers have to go through it.
In cases when parents accompany their children to courts for deportation cases, they can explain the circumstances better as what led them to flee the country. In a report by Texas Tribune, Lindsay Toczylowski, executive director of Immigrant Defenders Law Center in Los Angeles says, "The parents often have kept the facts from children too young to understand them. This puts the children 'in a disadvantageous position to defend themselves.' It is bothering the judges themselves as they see clueless toddlers walking up to the stand alone. Instead of giving them lawyers to defend, these children have been given a list of legal services organizations that might help them. MSNBC Anchor Rachel Maddow Cries on Live TV While Reading News of Migrant Toddlers Sent to 'Tender Age' Shelter.
The protests against the immigration policy aren't really enough, but the children need help in terms of getting lawyers to represent them. In the wake of reuniting these children with their families, they are only put through more trauma. The video portrays the confusion and cluelessness these toddlers are in. After already facing the separation from their parents, it is still not known how much time it would take to actually unify them. Those who can sponsor are doing their bit but that is definitely not enough. The emotions of these little children tug at the hearts and once again brings to fore the saddening aftereffects of the immigration policy.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 05, 2018 01:47 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).