Proposed DOJ Rule Ignores Due Process and Leaves Children Vulnerable to Deportation
On Wednesday, December 23, 2020, the Young Center joined more than 650 organizations and individuals to submit a public comment opposing a proposed rule by the Department of Justice’s Executive Office for Immigration Review that, if implemented, would jeopardize the safety and well-being of immigrant children by drastically limiting their ability to obtain continuances in deportation proceedings.
Continuances are critical procedural safeguards that ensure that children and families have a fair opportunity to be heard and to seek relief from deportation, as they are permitted to do under U.S. law. The importance of fairness in immigration court proceedings cannot be overstated: for many immigrants, particularly unaccompanied children, having a fair opportunity to be heard and to pursue avenues of relief from deportation can mean the difference between living in safety in the United States or being returned to a country where they may face danger and physical harm, including trafficking and persecution. The proposed rule will effectively end continuances for the purpose of obtaining counsel, and end continuances in a variety of circumstances where they now stand as a necessary aspect of pursuing immigration relief for children and other vulnerable immigrants facing deportation.
At the Young Center, we are most disturbed by the unique harm the proposed rule would impose on children and other vulnerable respondents in immigration court proceedings. The rule would lead to the deportation of scores of children eligible for lawful status based on threats to their safety and well-being, simply because they will not be given the time to pursue protection. Along with unaccompanied children, those most negatively impacted by the proposed rule will include survivors of domestic violence and trafficking who are pursuing immigration relief with United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, and children with approved Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS) petitions who are awaiting a current priority date. Further, the proposed rule would strip immigration judges of the critical and necessary discretion to make case-by-case, individualized assessments that ensure due process.
As an organization tasked with defending the rights and best interests of vulnerable children in immigration proceedings, we urge DOJ to withdraw the rule in its entirely and to restore immigration judges’ ability to manage their dockets and protect due process rights for each of the individuals appearing before them through the use of continuances, administrative closure, and termination.