By Mari Dorn Lopez, Staff Attorney
The idea of taking on a pro bono immigration case with a component in the state court may sound daunting. Fear not! CAIR Coalition’s Detained Children’s Program has successfully mentored many attorneys through the complex Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS) process and has had a steady stream of successes in Maryland, DC and Virginia.
SIJS is the most common humanitarian protection that CAIR Coalition identifies for children we serve through our Detained Children’s Program. In order to be eligible, the children must show that they have been abused, abandoned, or neglected by one or by both of their parents. Sadly, this is the reality for so many of the children coming into the United States not accompanied by any parents or legal guardian. When the children are detained, they are sent to detention centers specifically for unaccompanied immigrant children. After meeting with the children and identifying SIJS as a humanitarian protection, the next step is finding a pro bono attorney willing to represent the child.
Before seeking SIJS with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), the child must have an order from a state court which shows that: 1) the child is dependent on the state court (usually through a guardianship or custody proceedings), and 2) it is not in the child’s best interest to return to their home country, and 3) the child cannot be reunified with one or both of their parents because of abuse, abandonment, neglect, or a similar basis under state law.
CAIR Coalition successfully mentored many SIJS cases in 2013. One of the cases we mentored was for a 16 year-old girl from Honduras. She never knew her father and was severely abused by her mother. Her mother never allowed her to attend school and she described being treated like a dog throughout her entire childhood. Desperate to escape this situation, she journeyed alone to the U.S. Adding to her trauma, during her journey she was raped by a stranger leaving her pregnant. While this young girl was in the juvenile immigration shelter in Virginia, CAIR Coalition found a local law firm willing to represent her. With the help of the pro bono attorneys, she won the necessary state court order and was granted SIJS from USCIS. Now this girl and her baby are thriving and settling into their new lives which, thanks to her pro bono attorneys, are full of renewed hope and opportunities.
This year, we are off to a good start with a handful of wins in only a couple of months. Once a child receives SIJS, she is immediately eligible to apply for adjustment of status, which is the process wherein a child applies to become a permanent resident or get what is commonly referred to as the “green card.”
For children who have suffered abuse, abandonment or neglect, a pro bono attorney offers a chance at a new beginning. CAIR Coalition will walk the pro bono attorneys through each step of the process. At the end of the day, it is not only a rewarding and great experience for the attorney, but to see a child succeed and the smile that it puts on her face is priceless. We encourage anyone who is interested in working with an immigrant child to refer to our website at https://www.caircoalition.org where we update our pro bono opportunities regularly. We look forward to working with you!
