Julia Ainsley is homeland security correspondent for NBC News and covers the Department of Homeland Security and the Justice Department for the NBC News Investigative Unit.
A rare bipartisan bill on immigration aims to make the immigration court system friendlier and more navigable for unaccompanied migrant children. There are 62,000 pending cases in U.S. immigration courts involving children who crossed the border without a parent, and many now have to defend their right to stay in the U.S. without lawyers in courts meant for adults and in front of judges who may not understand their unique situation.
To others she explained their rights and what it would mean to choose voluntary departures or pursue their cases further, which could end in deportation orders or “final order of removal.” In the back of the courtroom, a local representative from a legal advocacy organization, Kids in Need of Defense, or KIND, stood by to determine which cases might need additional legal assistance. In some courtrooms like this, young children might be offered teddy bears.
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