CORREA, 56 COLLEAGUES DEMAND ANSWERS ABOUT THE QUALITY OF REPRESENTATION FOR CHILDREN FACING DEPORTATION ALONE

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Representative Lou Correa (CA-46) today led 56 colleagues in demanding the Trump Administration guarantee quality legal services and humane treatment for unaccompanied immigrant children in a letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., and Attorney General Todd Blanche.

The letter follows reports of children as young as two years old showing up in immigration courts nationwide for fast-tracked hearings, many without an attorney. This change has been part of the Trump Administration's cruel efforts to target immigrant children for removal and deny them legal immigration pathways.

"We write to demand answers regarding the fairness of the legal process and the quality of representation being provided to unaccompanied children under the new legal services contracts for Our Rescue and the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants (USCRI). Congress has shown clear intent through bipartisan passage of the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization that children deserve representation in legal proceedings. However, we have received reports that unaccompanied children are being provided with inadequate representation and that their cases are being moved into expedited judicial proceedings meant to limit the strength of their legal defense and increase deportations. We urge you to follow the law and give children the fair day in court they deserve by ensuring legal service providers do not just collect a paycheck, but vigorously represent those they are paid taxpayer dollars to serve, and that courts give adequate consideration to each child's case," the lawmakers write.

"Unaccompanied immigrant children are receiving substandard legal services at a time when the Trump Administration is already trying to prevent a fair hearing of their cases. The Department of Justice (DOJ) Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) has reportedly directed immigration judges to limit the length of continuances from months to three weeks, reducing the time children have to find an attorney and prepare for their case. In some jurisdictions, children are given only days of notice to appear in immigration court, which directly violates EOIR policy," the lawmakers continued. "Judges who attempt to give more time in proceedings are reportedly at risk of being punished. While children are being given less time to prepare for proceedings, the Administration is training immigration judges to deny asylum claims, further stacking the odds against these kids, some of whom have been abused or abandoned and are survivors of violent crime."

"Reports of inadequate representation and EOIR's efforts to prevent children from having their case fully considered are unacceptable. We urge you to end the prolonged detention of children, give them adequate time to prepare their cases, stop pressuring judges to deny claims, and conduct oversight to ensure new legal services providers effectively represent their clients in exchange for our tax dollars," the lawmakers concluded.

Specifically, the lawmakers requested answers to the following questions:

This letter was signed by Representatives Yassamin Ansari, Becca Balint, Nanette Barragán, Suzanne Bonamici, Janelle Bynum, André Carson, Greg Casar, Joaquin Castro, Judy Chu, Gilbert Cisneros, Yvette Clarke, Jim Costa, Jasmine Crockett, Jason Crow, Madeleine Dean, Diana DeGette, Mark DeSaulnier, Maxine Dexter, Veronica Escobar, Lizzie Fletcher, Maxwell Frost, Robert Garcia, Sylvia Garcia, Daniel Goldman, Adelita Grijalva, Steven Horsford, Jonathan Jackson, Henry Johnson, Raja Krishnamoorthi, George Latimer, Zoe Lofgren, Stephen Lynch, Jennifer McClellan, Gwen Moore, Jerrold Nadler, Joe Neguse, Eleanor Norton, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Brittany Pettersen, Mark Pocan, Mike Quigley, Delia Ramirez, Emily Randall, Luz Rivas, Andrea Salinas, Mary Gay Scanlon, Janice Schakowsky, Lateefah Simon, Melanie Stansbury, Greg Stanton, Mark Takano, Rashida Tlaib, Norma Torres, Juan Vargas, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, and Frederica Wilson.

View the full text of the letter here.