In August, CAIR Coalition expanded its Detained Children’s Program to include a third facility located in Bristow, Virginia. The facility currently houses more than 30 unaccompanied immigrant children between the ages of ten and seventeen. The population of unaccompanied immigrant children is slated to grow to 50 within the next several months.
This expansion will more than double the number of unaccompanied minors CAIR Coalition serves each year and reflects an overall increase in the number of unaccompanied immigrant children entering the United States. The majority of these children come from Mexico and Central America, where escalating drug and gang-related violence is driving them from their homelands in search of safety and a better future. Many of these children have suffered hardships we can scarcely imagine, including repeated physical and sexual abuse and human trafficking.
The children’s stay at this new facility can range from a few weeks to months, depending on the individual case. Since August, CAIR Coalition staff have identified children eligible for various forms of relief, including asylum, T-visas (for victims of trafficking), U-visas (for victims of crime), and Special Immigration Juvenile visas (for children who have been abused, abandoned or neglected by their parents.)
CAIR Coalition is working with several local law firms to provide pro bono legal assistance to these children, some of whom will be able to re-unify with family members in the Washington metropolitan area while they await their court hearings. However, even if a child is sent to another facility or reunified with family members outside of the Washington area, CAIR Coalition will assist the child to obtain pro bono legal assistance in the new location.
