A 6 year old Appears in Immigration Court by Himself

Ginger Thompson on Pro Publica tells the surreal story from the immigration fronts of a 6 year old caught appearing without counsel in immigration court.  “Wilder Hilario Maldonado Cabrera.  

“How old is Wilder?” the immigration judge asked.

An attorney, who was there with other clients, came forward and volunteered to stand in for Wilder. She turned to the boy and in Spanish asked his age.

“Seis años,” he said, 6, his legs dangling from a chair at the defendant’s table.

Wilder, a smiley, pudgy Salvadoran boy, missing his two front teeth, was the youngest defendant on the juvenile docket that day. But that wasn’t all that made him special. He was one of the last children left in government custody who had been affected by the administration’s widely criticized zero-tolerance policy, and who were still awaiting reunification with parents detained in the United States.”

KJ