I came to the United States from Cuba with my family when I was eight years old, just a year older than Suset in Herald reporter Syra Ortiz Blane’s Sept. 27 story, “Where futures are decided: Immigration court offers glimpse of South Florida migrants’ lives.” The story rightly points out the steep challenges that immigrants, particularly children, face navigating the U.S. immigration system — often without an attorney. Unlike juvenile justice and family courts, immigration courts treat children virtually the same as adults, even when they are facing court on their own. It fails to recognize the many ways children cannot navigate these complex proceedings that even adults have difficulty comprehending.
In Congress, I worked across the aisle on commonsense proposals to protect the most vulnerable. Now, Congress has the opportunity to enact bipartisan, practical court reforms with the Immigration Court Efficiency and Children’s Court Act. If passed, immigration judges and government attorneys handling unaccompanied children’s cases would be specially trained, procedures would better align with children’s developmental levels and the courts would help facilitate children’s access to legal
assistance. This is a needed solution for Miami’s immigration court, which handles among the highest number of unaccompanied children’s cases. These children deserve a system
in which they can fairly access protection. I know from experience this can be life-changing.
Former U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) is Senior Advisor at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP, assisting clients navigating complex legislative and policy issues.
https://www.miamiherald.com/opinion/letters-to-the-editor/article293252109.html