Difference Between a Refugee and Deportee? A Lawyer
Julianne Hing writes in The Nation:
Two years after tens of thousands of children and families began fleeing rampant violence in Central America for the United States, a year and a half after the ensuing media panic over their arrival triggered a militarized response from Texas, and a month after the Department of Homeland Security began raiding homes to deport those who’d supposedly lost their asylum cases, the ongoing crisis has laid bare the deepest weaknesses of the US asylum system. Chief among them is that migrants in immigration proceedings, including children, have no guarantee of legal counsel and are often forced to make their case in front of immigration judges alone.
On Thursday, Democratic senators led by minority leader Harry Reid introduced a bill to address this key gap. The “Fair Day in Court for Kids Act” would ensure that children and other “vulnerable” migrants like victims of torture or those with disabilities have access to a government attorney and legal orientation programs. Read more…