The children come to the United States without their parents, from all corners of the world: Central America, Mexico, China, India, Romania, Somalia. They’re fleeing political upheaval, extreme poverty, child labor and abusive homes. In some cases they’ve come to be reunited with family members who preceded them here. The children are trafficked into the U.S., transported by hired smugglers, or make the dangerous journeys on their own. Sometimes they’re too young to understand why they’ve been sent to the United States.

In 2008, more than 8,000 unaccompanied immigrant children were taken into custody by U.S. immigration authorities. They were caught at the borders and at the airports, and then sent to shelters throughout the country where their stay can range from a month to as long as a year.

Through the Immigrant Child Advocacy Project, multilingual law students, social work students and lay volunteers are trained to serve as friends of the child or Child Advocates. Their role is to figure out what brought the children to the United States and advocate on their behalf. The Advocates get to know the children, help sort out their stories and help identify their eligibility for asylum or special protective visas. The Advocates help ensure the best interest - safety and well-being - of these vulnerable children, whether they are eligible to remain in the United States, or return to their home country.

The Project
The Immigrant Child Advocacy Project is a human service and policy advocacy program dedicated to advocating for the best interest - safety and well-being - of immigrant and refugee children who are alone in the United States. We’re working to develop a national network of Child Advocates for unaccompanied immigrant and refugee children and to promote consideration of best interest in all decisions affecting unaccompanied immigrant and refugee children in the United States.

Child Advocates spend time with the children, visiting at least once a week and taking time to get to know them. Advocates help figure out what brought the children to the United States, learning about their lives in their home countries and their journeys to the U.S. Nabil was 16 years old when he arrived from North Africa...

Child Advocates accompany the children to Immigration Court and help ensure they understand the procedures and can effectively participate. Advocates, who are required to be bilingual, often serve as a bridge between children and their attorneys, playing a crucial role in helping the children tell their stories. Ming Xia was a diminutive girl of 17 when she arrived from China. There was a suspicion that Ming Xia’s private attorney was working for her trafficker...

Child Advocates ensure the children have attorneys who are representing the children and not the interests of traffickers or smugglers. It was clear to his case manager that Xie Min, a 16-year-old boy from China, had a mental disability...

Child Advocates provide critical recommendations regarding children’s best interest, particularly for younger children or children who are not competent. The Advocates also help the children understand their situation and work with their attorneys to counsel them on the best long-term options. Susana and Ramon Lopez were 8- and 10-year-old siblings who had traveled with a smuggler from Honduras to be reunited with their parents in the United States...

Child Advocates prepare best interest recommendations according to principles set forth in the Convention on the Rights of the Child and UNHCR Guidelines. Marco and Johana were 6 and 7 year old siblings from Central America who’d been abandoned and abused by their family...

After children are released, the Child Advocates ensure they continue to receive services such as legal representation. Young Zheng, 14, feared that if he were deported, he would be subject to torture by the Chinese government and that the traffickers would harm him. The traffickers had already threatened retribution against his family if they did not repay the smuggling fee of $60,000...