About This Issue
Noncitizen youth involved in the juvenile legal system face heightened risk of surveillance by federal immigration authorities and immigration consequences, including arrest, detention, and deportation. These harms exacerbate the underlying trauma, stress, and psychological distress that many noncitizen youth and youth living in mixed-status families are experiencing as a result of the constant threats of detention and deportation by the federal government. Effective youth defense advocacy offers noncitizen youth with safeguards to mitigate immigration consequences and creates pathways to immigration relief, tailored to the individualized circumstances of each youth.
Opportunities for Youth Defenders
Youth defenders have an opportunity to not only safeguard the constitutional rights of noncitizen youth in juvenile court, but they are also the only people who have an ethical mandate to advise young people about the potential immigration consequences that may arise from juvenile court involvement. This role is critical to mitigate risk and harm for noncitizen youth and should inform every layer of youth defense advocacy from client interviewing, counseling, plea negotiations, and dispositional advocacy.
In addition to mitigating harm, youth defenders are also uniquely positioned to affirmatively create humanitarian pathways for legal status for noncitizen youth involved in juvenile court. In many instances, youth defenders may be the only person a youth is able to safely share their immigration status with, given the confidentiality protection over an attorney-client relationship. This creates a vital opportunity for youth defenders to screen for various immigration relief options, such as Special Immigrant Juvenile Status, and advocate for necessary predicate orders in juvenile court to open pathways to legal status that may not otherwise be accessible for noncitizen youth.
Representing noncitizen youth in juvenile court also presents an opportunity for youth defenders to work collectively and collaboratively with other defenders, immigration experts, community leaders, and the immigrant justice movement to holistically advocate for noncitizen youth.
Our Impact
The Gault Center regularly partners with immigration experts to develop resources and convene roundtables, listening sessions, trainings, and Q&A sessions on the evolving immigration landscape and its implications for youth defense practice. As part of our commitment to strengthen specialized youth defense advocacy, the Gault Center serves as a bridge between the youth defense community and immigration experts to ensure youth defenders are up to date on the latest immigration enforcement actions and immigration relief options available to youth involved in juvenile court. To that end, the Gault Center is actively working with the youth defense community to tailor client interviewing and counseling to the realities facing noncitizen youth, negotiate pleas and court appearances based on potential immigration consequences, and advocate for court orders that support pathways for immigration relief for noncitizen youth. As a result of the trainings and resources offered by the Gault Center, youth defenders reported feeling better prepared to discuss immigration consequences and relief options with noncitizen youth, more confident in understanding the bigger picture of the immigration landscape and its intersection with delinquency cases, and better able to advocate for noncitizen youth on a day-to-day practice in juvenile court.
Our Resources
Covers guidance for youth defenders on client interviewing, data monitoring and tracking, the Laken Riley Act, immigration relief options, and litigation and advocacy strategies when representing noncitizen youth.
Offers an overview of the rights of noncitizen youth and strategies for youth defenders to safeguard these rights and mitigate harm throughout the course of representing youth in juvenile court.
Guides youth defenders on how to screen for SIJS eligibility and obtain a SIJS predicate order in juvenile court to support a young person’s application for immigration relief.
Walks through practical and concrete steps juvenile court judges can take to ensure safe and equitable access to courts for noncitizen and immigrant youth.
Provides tangible opportunities probation officers have to support positive youth development equitably for all youth, regardless of immigration status and circumstances beyond a young person’s control.
A companion checklist for probation officers, walking through key considerations when working with noncitizen youth.
