2026-09-28T23:14:23.111Z / https://www.cnn.com/2026/09/28/politics/texas-immigration-court-minors
周一在德克萨斯州的一间法庭内，25名移民儿童坐在长椅上——一名6岁男孩假装开飞机，一名3岁孩子把玩着麦克风，还有一名少女试图和朋友眼神交流。法官提醒所有人，这场庭审事关重大。
“我看到你在笑，以为这些程序很好玩，但我需要你集中注意力，”法官对那名少女说，“这些程序可能会决定你是继续留在美国还是被遣返。”
年仅2岁的移民儿童正陆续出现在全美各地的移民法庭上，其中许多人没有律师代理，他们需要为留在美国、避免被驱逐而据理力争。
周一在德克萨斯州哈林根的移民法庭内，社工们悄悄向孩子们介绍在场人员——从译员、秘书到身着黑袍的法官。
大多数孩子都穿着正式服装，头发梳得整整齐齐，却不耐烦地等待着法官。第一个出庭的是13岁的洪都拉斯男孩安赫尔，他没有律师代理。
当被问及无法返回洪都拉斯的理由时，安赫尔告诉法官：“我妈妈和几乎所有家人都在这里，回去太危险了。”
但法官认为这并不足以构成庇护理由，他告诉男孩他不符合庇护资格。“你是想申请自愿离境，还是由我下达驱逐令？”法官问道。
“我不知道，”安赫尔回答后突然大哭起来。他面无表情地盯着前方，继续哭泣，最终说道：“我无依无靠，一无所有。”
“我理解，但根据你的陈述，美国移民法非常严格，”法官总结道，并给了安赫尔月底之前上诉驱逐令的时间。
数百名无人陪伴的移民儿童要么在试图穿越南部边境时被拘留，要么其家人被移民海关执法局逮捕，目前被关押在卫生与公众服务部难民安置办公室运营的收容所内，该办公室负责照料无人陪伴的移民儿童。
在唐纳德·特朗普总统执政期间，政府今年夏天终止了一项长期法律服务合同，同时官员们正以前所未有的速度结案，导致移民程序愈发复杂且加速推进，而儿童能获得的帮助也越来越少。
通过对十多名律师、维权人士、现任和前任政府官员的采访，以及对法庭文件和机构内部备忘录的审查，我们得以描绘出这样一个移民系统：它不断变化，且往往毫无预兆，这加剧了混乱，并给面临驱逐的弱势儿童带来了巨大压力。
https://www.cnn.com/
穿越南部边境的无人陪伴未成年人或将很快失去关键法律服务
来源：CNN
周一，年仅3岁的儿童在社工陪同下出现在德克萨斯州的法庭上。
身穿蓝色外套、头发梳得一丝不苟的3岁男孩马特奥正在参加初次庭审。当被传唤到辩护席时，他试了试麦克风，引得旁听席上的一些人发笑。当法官与远程出庭的马特奥的律师交谈时，这名3岁孩子一边说话一边把玩着麦克风。
随后法官向15名没有律师代理的未成年人问道：“这是你们第一次来移民法庭吗？”
他们都回答：“是。”
“你们有人想申请自愿离境吗？”法官问道。
没有人举手。另一名孩子开玩笑地将双手伸向天空。
2008年《人口贩运受害者保护重新授权法案》这项已实施近二十年的联邦法律，本应为无人陪伴的移民儿童提供保护，包括筛查他们是否为人口贩运受害者，或是否有足够理由担心在本国遭受迫害。
但维权人士和律师告诉CNN，特朗普政府正在削弱这些保护措施。儿童们正面临着快速推进的移民程序，包括突然重新安排庇护面谈时间，有时仅提前24小时通知——而且越来越多的情况下没有法律帮助。
原本需要数月时间才能排期的移民听证会，现在短短几天或几周内就能举行。内部程序也频繁变动。
与此同时，儿童的亲属和监护人要想让孩子获释面临更多障碍，政府称这是为了加强审查。
移民权利之友中心儿童项目副主任丹尼尔·赫斯特尔表示，最近儿童的庇护面谈和移民听证会都被加快了。
“我们看到这种情况在过去几个月里有所增加，过去几周更是大幅提速，”他说。
这对于案情可能特别复杂的儿童来说影响重大。和成年人一样，儿童也必须提交证据支持其庇护申请，而且法律并未要求他们在整个诉讼过程中都有律师代理。
“4岁的孩子不知道自己身在何处，也不知道发生了什么。他们可能明白自己正在和法官说话，法官问了他们的名字，但仅此而已，”一名与无人陪伴儿童打交道的维权人士告诉CNN。
“我从未见过如此多的驱逐案件，而且是发生在那些完全孤立无援的儿童身上，”这名维权人士说。
尽管移民维权人士和律师表示，特朗普政府做出的这些调整似乎旨在快速遣返移民儿童，但特朗普政府官员辩称，这么做是为了儿童的利益，确保他们不会陷入危险——并确保严格的审查。
负责监督美国移民法院系统的移民审查执行办公室否认了案件被快速推进的说法。
该办公室的一名发言人在给CNN的一份声明中表示，该机构“优先确保所有案件及时结案，并根据需要调整排期，以确保案件不会久拖不决”。
今年7月的一项重大变更中，特朗普政府终止了一份已执行多年的合同。该合同每年价值2亿美元，与正义 Acacia 中心签订，该中心与全美100家法律服务提供商签订了分包合同。据该中心称，他们总共为2万多名无人陪伴的移民儿童提供了法律咨询。
与正义 Acacia 中心签订的合同资助了包括了解你的权利宣讲、法律筛查和法律代理在内的各类服务。从历史上看，并非所有无人陪伴的儿童都能请到律师，但根据这份合同，他们都能获得法律指导、咨询和转介服务。
“以前，根据我们的合同，如果儿童在拘留期间进入抗辩阶段，代理律师是强制性的。你绝不会看到被拘留的儿童在没有律师代理的情况下被下令驱逐，”正义 Acacia 中心执行董事莎娜·阿伯说道。
8月初，难民安置办公室向美国难民与移民委员会这家非营利组织授予了最高2000万美元的合同，为其提供法律服务至12月31日。但在那之后的几周里，律师和维权人士在法庭声明中称，在儿童出庭时，美国难民与移民委员会的律师要么未到场，要么未发声。这些声明被提交至一起正在进行的诉讼中，该诉讼旨在挑战政府最初终止合同的行为。
卫生与公众服务部发言人艾米丽·希利亚德在给CNN的一份声明中，将与美国难民与移民委员会的合同作为其致力于为儿童提供法律服务的证据。“在特朗普政府执政期间，难民安置办公室始终致力于确保每一名无人陪伴的外籍儿童在移民法庭上都有律师代理，”她说。
“难民安置办公室将继续促进其监管下的[无人陪伴外籍儿童]通过律师代理充分参与移民法律程序，包括在移民审查执行办公室的移民法官面前举行听证会，这些法官自行管理青少年案件的排期，并根据正在审议的庇护申请做出独立决定，”她补充道。
美国难民与移民委员会未就其律师在部分移民听证会上未发声或未到场的指控置评。
周一，为包括安赫尔在内的一些儿童担任虚拟“法庭之友”的美国难民与移民委员会律师全程沉默旁观，据为南德克萨斯州各地无人陪伴儿童提供法律服务的 ProBar 组织法律主任劳伦·费舍尔·弗洛雷斯透露。
“我从事这一领域20年来，从未见过移民法庭剥夺儿童依据法律寻求安全和保护的权利，”出席了周一庭审的弗洛雷斯说道。“我们正目睹几十年来载入我们法律的正当程序保护措施正在瓦解。儿童理应得到比快速驱逐制度更好的待遇。”
尽管一些律师继续代理现有客户，但由于联邦资助减少，许多律师无法承接新案件或额外案件。为德克萨斯州埃尔帕索的无人陪伴未成年人提供服务的埃斯特雷拉德尔帕索组织，在7月底这份价值2亿美元的合同到期后关闭了其项目。据该组织执行董事梅利莎·玛丽·洛佩斯提交的一份法庭声明显示，该项目的18名员工中有13人被解雇。
在一些法庭内，移民法官要求儿童对国土安全部提出的应予驱逐的指控作出回应。
“那些没有律师代理的孩子，他们连表格都看不懂，更别说知道如何提交了。如果他们没有提出庇护申请，法官就会下令将他们驱逐，”其中一名维权人士告诉CNN。“从根本上说，这完全侵犯了儿童的正当程序权利。没有人问过一个问题——你将投奔何处？你会安全吗？”
法律服务的缺失或有限获取，也会严重影响儿童的庇护申请，这需要与美国庇护官员进行面谈。面谈可能长达数小时，深入询问可能造成创伤的经历。没有律师在场的情况下，孩子们只能独自参加面谈。
律师们告诉CNN，他们首先会尝试与孩子建立融洽关系，然后帮助他们了解面谈中会遇到的情况。弗洛雷斯讲述了上个月与一名3岁孩子面谈的经历：孩子坐不住椅子，后来干脆坐在地板上，一边给家具贴创可贴、玩恐龙玩具，一边听庇护官员提问。
在CNN审查过的一份9月备忘录中，难民安置办公室告诉各收容所，“未来几周”美国公民及移民服务局将要求申请庇护的儿童参加远程面谈。备忘录称，应通知代理律师和/或法律服务提供商。
美国公民及移民服务局在给CNN的一份声明中表示，该局从卫生与公众服务部收到在押儿童名单，并与该机构协调，为等待庇护申请的儿童安排面谈——“无论是面对面还是通过视频会议，具体取决于哪种方式最快捷”。
“无论面谈是面对面进行还是通过视频会议进行，所有无人陪伴外籍儿童都将经历同样严格的审查和安全检查流程，”声明中说道。
尽管律师和维权人士承认，移民程序的某些环节，比如庇护面谈，之前的排期时间过长，但突如其来的变化和紧凑的时间安排给儿童带来了额外的压力。
“孩子们能感受到这种压力。被驱逐的恐惧——这种情况很快就会发生的现实——普遍引发了焦虑和恐慌，这也会影响他们在面谈中的表现，”移民权利之友中心儿童项目负责人劳拉·纳利说道。
根据联邦数据，8月份卫生与公众服务部监管下的移民儿童平均人数为1883人，低于往年。
ProBar 组织为南德克萨斯州17个收容所的无人陪伴移民儿童提供法律服务，此前该组织是正义 Acacia 中心的分包商。目前该组织仍在为已有客户提供代理服务，但现在接触其他儿童的渠道受到了限制。
在一份法庭声明中，该组织援引了一名7岁儿童的案例：这名儿童在8月份无律师代理的情况下出庭接受移民法官审理，并被下令自愿离开美国。这名儿童获得了30天的期限。
ProBar 首次开通了一条名为“多莉”的热线，这一名称源自《海底总动员》中帮助父子团聚的小鱼，旨在为在押儿童提供资源。自8月初以来，该热线已接到200多个电话。
“有些孩子会流露情绪，有些则封闭自己，”ProBar 的律师凯瑟琳·贝克说道。“这真的非常具有挑战性。”共有14名工作人员负责接听热线，他们会与孩子交流赴美经历、收集基本信息，并为他们提供移民程序方面的指导。
“我们所能提供的是对程序的深入了解，”贝克说道。
许多儿童选择自愿离开美国返回本国，国土安全部为他们提供3000美元的补助金作为条件。
Exclusive: ‘I have no one’: Inside a Texas immigration court where children fight to stay in the US
2026-09-28T23:14:23.111Z / https://www.cnn.com/2026/09/28/politics/texas-immigration-court-minors
In a Texas courtroom Monday, 25 migrant children lined the pews — a 6-year-old pretended to fly an airplane, a 3-year-old played with the mic, and a teen girl tried to make eye contact with a friend. The judge reminded everyone of what was at stake.
“I see you’re smiling and think these proceedings are funny, but I need you to pay attention,” the judge told the teen girl. “They could determine whether you remain in the country or are removed.”
Migrant children as young as 2 are showing up at immigration courts nationwide, many without attorneys, to make their case to stay in the US and avoid deportation.
Inside the immigration court in Harlingen, Texas, on Monday, caseworkers quietly explained to the minors who everyone was — from the interpreter and secretary to the judge in a black robe.
Most of the children, dressed formally with neatly styled hair, waited impatiently for the judge. Among the first to appear before the judge was a 13-year-old Honduran boy named Angel. He didn’t have an attorney.
Asked whether there was a reason he couldn’t return to Honduras, Angel told the judge, “My mom and almost my entire family are here. It’s too dangerous to go back.”
But that wasn’t enough for the judge, who told the boy he did not qualify for asylum. “Would you like to request voluntary departure, or should I issue a removal order?” The judge asked.
“I don’t know,” Angel replied before bursting into tears. He stared ahead stoically and continued to cry, eventually saying: “I have no one. I have nothing.”
“I understand, but based on your answers, US immigration laws are very strict,” the judge concluded, and gave Angel until the end of the month to appeal his deportation order.
Hundreds of unaccompanied migrant children who were detained trying to cross the southern border or whose families were picked up by Immigration and Customs Enforcement are being held in shelters operated by the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Refugee Resettlement, which is tasked with the care of unaccompanied migrant children.
Under President Donald Trump, they have been increasingly forced to navigate a complicated and accelerated immigration process with dwindling help after the administration ended a long-standing contract for legal services this summer — and as officials try to wrap their cases at an unprecedented pace.
Interviews with more than a dozen lawyers, advocates, and current and former administration officials, as well as a review of court documents and internal agency memos, paint a picture of an immigration system that’s constantly changing, often with little notice, and as a result, fueling confusion and placing immense pressure on vulnerable children facing deportation.
https://www.cnn.com/
Unaccompanied minors who crossed the Southern border may soon lose critical legal service
Source: CNN
Children as young as 3 appeared in the Texas courtroom Monday, accompanied by their caseworkers.
Mateo, a 3-year-old in a blue jacket with neatly combed hair, was in court for an initial appearance. When called to the defense table, he tested the microphone, drawing laughter from some in the audience. As the judge spoke with Mateo’s attorney, who appeared remotely, the 3-year-old talked and played with the microphone.
The judge later asked a group of 15 minors without attorneys: “Is this your first time in immigration court?”
They all answered, “Yes.”
“Do any of you want voluntary departure?” the judge asked.
No one raised their hand. Another child stretched her hands playfully toward the sky.
A federal law that’s been in place for nearly two decades, the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008, is supposed to provide protections for unaccompanied migrant children, including screenings to check whether they’re victims of human trafficking or have a credible fear of persecution in their home country.
But advocates and attorneys tell CNN those protections are being undermined under the Trump administration. Children are contending with a fast-tracked immigration process, including abruptly rescheduled asylum interviews, sometimes with only a 24-hour notice — and increasingly without legal help.
Immigration hearings that used to be spread out over months are now happening within days or weeks. And internal procedures are frequently changing.
Relatives and guardians of children, meanwhile, are facing additional hurdles to try to have kids released to them, which the administration says is intended for additional vetting.
Daniel Gestal, deputy director of the children’s program at the Amica Center for Immigrant Rights, said asylum interviews and immigration hearings for children have been sped up recently.
“We have seen that increase over the last couple months and supercharged over the last few weeks,” he said.
That matters for a child whose case may be especially complex. Like adults, children must also present evidence to back up their asylum claim, and there’s no requirement for them to have legal representation throughout the process.
“The 4-year-olds don’t know where they are and what’s going on. They may understand that they’re talking to a judge, and the judge asked them their name, but that’s the extent of their understanding,” an advocate who works with unaccompanied children told CNN.
“I’ve never witnessed so many removals and to see it happen with children who are standing there completely alone,” the advocate said.
While immigrant advocates and attorneys say the changes made by the Trump administration appear intended to quickly remove migrant children, Trump officials argue it’s for the benefit of the children to ensure they aren’t put in harm’s way — and to ensure rigorous vetting.
The Executive Office for Immigration Review, which oversees the US immigration court system, denied claims that cases are being fast-tracked.
A spokesperson for the office said in a statement to CNN that the agency “prioritizes the timely completion of all cases and makes scheduling adjustments as needed to ensure cases do not languish.”
In a critical change in July, the Trump administration allowed a yearslong contract to lapse. The contract, valued at $200 million a year, was with the Acacia Center for Justice, which subcontracted with 100 legal service providers across the US. Together, they provided counsel to more than 20,000 unaccompanied migrant children, according to the center.
The contract to the Acacia Center for Justice funded know-your-rights presentations, legal screenings and legal representation, among other services. Historically, not all unaccompanied children have had attorneys, but under the contract, they all had legal orientations, consultations and referrals.
“Before, under our contract, it was mandatory to enter into representation if a child was moving forward to the pleading stage while in detention. You’d never have a child in detention being ordered removed without representation,” said Shaina Aber, executive director of the Acacia Center for Justice.
In early August, the Office of Refugee Resettlement awarded up to $20 million to the US Committee for Refugees and Immigrants, a nonprofit organization, to provide legal services through December 31. But in the weeks that followed, attorneys and advocates said in court declarations that the USCRI attorneys either weren’t present or didn’t speak up as kids faced the court. The declarations were submitted as part of an ongoing lawsuit challenging the administration’s initial attempt to terminate the contract.
In a statement to CNN, Department of Health and Human Services spokesperson Emily Hilliard cited the contract with the US Committee for Refugees and Immigrants as evidence of its commitment to provide legal services to children. “Under the Trump Administration, ORR remains committed to ensuring that every unaccompanied alien child has legal representation in immigration court,” she said.
“ORR will continue facilitating the ability of [unaccompanied alien children] in its custody to fully participate in immigration legal proceedings with representation by counsel, including hearings before EOIR immigration judges, who manage their own juvenile case dockets and schedules and make independent decisions on asylum claims under consideration,” she added.
USCRI did not respond to request for comment about claims that its attorneys were either not speaking up or not showing up at some immigration hearings.
On Monday, an attorney from USCRI watched silently as a virtual “friend of the court” for some of the children, including Angel, according to Lauren Fisher Flores, legal director at ProBar, which provides legal services to unaccompanied children across South Texas.
“In the 20 years I have been in this field, I have never seen the immigration court strip children of their right to seek safety and protection under the law,” said Flores, who attended Monday’s hearing. “We are witnessing the unraveling of due process protections that have been enshrined in our laws for decades. Children deserve better than a fast-track deportation system.”
While some attorneys have continued representing their existing clients, many can’t take on new or additional cases because of the loss in federal funding. Estrella del Paso, which works with unaccompanied minors in El Paso, Texas, closed its program after the expiration of the $200 million contract in late July. Thirteen of the 18 staff members who worked in the program were laid off, according to a court declaration submitted by Melissa Mari Lopez, executive director at Estrella del Paso.
In some courtrooms, immigration judges are requiring children to answer to the charges brought against them by the Department of Homeland Security that they should be removed.
“The kids who are unrepresented, they can’t read the form, much less figure out how to file it. And if they don’t put an asylum claim in, the judges are ordering their removal,” one of the advocates told CNN. “Fundamentally, that’s a complete violation of due process for a child. No one is asking a single question — who will you go to? Will you be safe?”
The lack of, or limited access to legal services, can also significantly impact a child’s asylum claim, which requires an interview with a US asylum officer. The interviews can take hours and dive into potentially traumatic events. In the absence of lawyers, kids go into the interviews alone.
Attorneys told CNN they first try to establish a rapport with a child and then help them understand what to expect in those interviews. Flores described sitting in an interview last month with a 3-year-old, who couldn’t fit in the chair and who subsequently ended up on the floor putting Band-Aids on the furniture and playing with dinosaurs while the asylum officer tried to ask the child questions.
In a September memo reviewed by CNN, ORR told shelters that “in the coming weeks” US Citizenship and Immigration Services would request virtual interviews with kids claiming asylum. The memo states that the attorney of record and/or legal service providers should be notified.
USCIS said in a statement to CNN that it receives lists of kids in custody from Health and Human Services and coordinates with the agency to schedule those with pending asylum applications for interviews — either in person or by video conference, “depending on which is the most expeditious.”
“Whether the face-to-face interview is conducted in person or by video conference, all UACs undergo the same rigorous vetting and security check process,” the statement said.
While attorneys and advocates concede there are parts of the immigration process, like asylum interviews, that were taking too long to get scheduled, the sudden changes and quick timelines place extra stress on children.
“The kids feel that pressure. The terror level of being deported — the reality of that happening soon — is causing anxiety and panic across the board also, which influences how you’re going to do at the interview,” said Laura Nally, program director of the Children’s Program at the Amica Center for Immigrant Rights.
In August, there was an average of 1,883 migrant children in HHS custody, according to federal data, lower than in previous years.
ProBar, an organization that provides legal services to unaccompanied migrant children across 17 facilities in South Texas, had been a subcontractor with the Acacia Center for Justice. It continues to provide representation to the clients it already had, but access to other children is now limited.
In a court declaration, the organization cited the case of a 7-year-old who, in August, appeared before an immigration judge without an attorney and was ordered to voluntarily leave the US. The child was given 30 days.
ProBar set up a hotline for the first time called Dory, a reference to the fish in “Finding Nemo” that helps reunite father and son, as a way to serve as a resource to children in custody. It has received more than 200 calls since early August.
“You have some kids expressing emotions, others that are shut down,” said Katherine Beck, an attorney at ProBar. “It’s really, really challenging.” There are 14 staff members responding to the hotline who speak to children about their experience coming to the US, gather general information and provide guidance on the immigration process.
“What we can offer is a deep knowledge of the process,” Beck said.
Many kids are choosing to voluntarily leave the United States and go back to their home country, with the promise of a $3,000 stipend offered by the Department of Homeland Security if they do.