Young Children Forced to Appear in Immigration Court Without Parents, Lawyers: 'The Cruelty Is Really Apparent'

Children as young as four years old are attending virtual immigration court without a parent, guardian, or legal representation.

New York migrant shelter workers help children log on to computers, where a judge attempts to explain "rights," "asylum," and deportation in kid-friendly language.

"The reason we're here is because the government of the United States wants you to leave the United States," immigration judge Ubaid ul-Haq told a group of children in a hearing Gothamist reported. Some of the child defendants played with a toy or squirmed in their chairs.

The children entered the United States as unaccompanied minors, which means they came without a legal guardian, often with siblings or extended family. The Trump administration recently terminated a federal contract that funded attorneys and "friend of the court" legal aid programs for unaccompanied minors. Now 26,000 children are left to navigate the legal system alone.

96% of people in New York immigration court without legal counsel are ordered deported, compared to just 23% of those with representation, according to TRAC immigration data.

"The cruelty is apparent to all of us out here in the field," Meena Shah told Gothamist. Shah co-manages legal services at a New York City nonprofit. "That child will be ordered deported from this country — that could all happen without that child ever speaking with an attorney."

Immigration attorneys and advocacy groups are calling on New York state leaders, including Gov. Kathy Hochul, to replace the $18 million in funding previously provided by the federal contract.

"We're just scrambling to try to replace the funding," said Sierra Kraft of the ICARE Coalition. "At least partially...if possible."