Just before the new year, the Department of Justice's Executive Office of Immigration Review released guidance for all judges overseeing children’s cases in immigration court requiring immigration judges to implement simple, child-friendly procedures such as allowing young children to bring a book or quiet toy to court or allow a child to testify somewhere other than the witness stand; give children time to establish understanding and rapport with an interpreter before the proceeding starts. It also directs judges to consider how a child’s age impacts their ability to understand what is happening. Read our press release here for more details.
These changes are a critical step forward. Moreover, they reflect more than a decade of advocacy by the Young Center and other organizations to fundamentally change the courtrooms in which children carry the burden to prove, without the guarantee of an attorney, that they are eligible for protection in the United States. |
