Our Work

Mission
The mission of the Immigrant Child Advocacy Project is to promote the best interest - safety and well-being - of unaccompanied and separated immigrant, migrant and refugee children who are in the United States.

History
In 2004, the United States Department of Health & Human Services Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) provided seed funding to build a model project to provide guardians ad litem (Child Advocates) for unaccompanied immigrant children. Although civil and criminal courts routinely appoint guardians ad litem to represent the best interests of minors - and although the U.S. "best interests" model was the benchmark around which the international Convention on the Rights of the Child was crafted - U.S. immigration courts do not recognize immigrant children as distinct from adults nor consider their "best interests" when deciding whether to grant protection or order the child deported.

The Immigrant Child Advocacy Project developed a model through which ICAP attorneys, who have experience in immigration and child welfare law recruit, train and supervise bilingual law and social work students as well as lay volunteers, who are assigned to serve as Child Advocates (guardians ad litem) for individual unaccompanied children.  Many of the students and volunteers are immigrants themselves, or the children of immigrants.

Informed by its work on behalf of individual children, ICAP also advocates for policy change at the local and national level.  In March 2006, ICAP was invited to join the legal clinic at the University of Chicago Law School as an independent project.

Background
When unaccompanied immigrant children are apprehended by immigration authorities, they are placed in removal proceedings before the Immigration Court. Unlike state child protection courts, which are designed to accommodate children, immigration proceedings are adversarial and require that children meet the same procedural, evidentiary and legal rules as adults. This despite the fact that children don’t have the same capacity to advocate for themselves and often don’t understand how their experiences relate to a possible application for asylum or other immigration protections. Indeed, many children have been told repeatedly by adults – family or traffickers – to keep their stories secret.

In the domestic child protection context, state juvenile court judges must consider the best interest of the child before rendering a decision. Traditional guardians ad litem (friends of the child) are appointed by the judge to look out for the child’s best interests. Ideally, Immigration Judges would be required to take the child’s best interest into consideration in deciding whether a child should return to her country of origin or be granted asylum or other protection.

International standards set forth in the Convention on the Rights of the Child and guidelines promulgated by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) have long declared that children deprived of their families should have the special protection and assistance of guardians. Yet until now few countries have taken affirmative steps to establish such programs. Even the former Immigration & Naturalization Service called for assignment of guardians for unaccompanied children: “It is generally in the best interest of the child to allow a trusted adult to attend an asylum interview with the child asylum applicant. A trusted adult is a person who may bridge the gap between the child’s culture and the U.S. asylum system.”

To read the University of Chicago Alumni Article.

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ICAP Projects

Child Advocates in Chicago. The Immigrant Child Advocacy Project recruits, trains and supervises multi-lingual law students, social work students and lay volunteers who are assigned to serve as Child Advocates for individual children in federal custody in Chicago.

Development of National Plan to Provide Child Advocate Services.  In partnership with the Vera Institute of Justice, ICAP is developing a plan for the rollout of a national Child Advocate program.  ICAP will be conducting research and visiting various sites with the expectation that fully-staffed Child Advocate programs will be launched in a number of locations around the country in 2010 or 2011.

Interim National Child Advocate Services.  During this research and development year, ICAP will train a small number of individual volunteers from around the country who will then be able to serve as Child Advocate in complex cases.  ICAP will supervise the volunteer Child Advocates and an ICAP attorney will accompany the volunteer to appearances in Immigration Court.

International Home Studies Project.  For a handful of cases in the past year, ICAP has been able to identify social workers in the children’s country of origin who prepared thorough  home study reports which informed ICAP’s recommendations on whether the children could be safely repatriated.  ICAP proposes to launch a two-year pilot program to commission international home studies in complex cases involving very young children, children with special needs, children facing long-term or permanent separation from parents/legal guardians, and children for whom there are concerns about safety upon repatriation. The international home studies will inform best interest reports prepared by Child Advocates and submitted to Immigration Courts, asylum officers and state juvenile and family courts.

Safe Repatriation.  ICAP is developing protocols to be followed in cases in which children return to their home country either because they want to go home, or because they are being deported.  The assigned Child Advocate will identify community resources for the child and ensure that a responsible adult will be available to meet the child.  The Child Advocate will remain in contact with the child in the home country until he or she is settled.

Training for Working with Unaccompanied Immigrant Children. ICAP is creating training materials and a training module on child development and the special needs of unaccompanied immigrant children for pro bono attorneys and Child Advocates. The manual will include key learning points, facilitator notes, briefing papers, handouts and exercises. The key learning points will serve as a universal outline so that the training can be replicated in other locations; local experts will be hired to conduct training sessions, developing their own presentations with the outline (key learning points) as a guide, thereby ensuring continuity.

Technical Assistance. ICAP provides consultation and technical assistance to legal services providers and pro bono attorneys who want to work with a social worker or other person who serves in the capacity of guardian ad litem (Child Advocate).

Protocols for Protecting Children from Attorneys Hired by Smugglers and Traffickers. Some unaccompanied children are represented by private attorneys who are not pro bono attorneys. In many of these cases, the attorneys have never met or spoken to them by phone and will sometimes openly acknowledge being retained to do the bare minimum: get the children released so they can begin working and sending money back home. Reporting such cases to local attorney registration agencies does not serve to deter the attorneys from representing children in Immigration Courts in other states. The Immigrant Child Advocacy Project is developing protocols to protect children in situations in which smugglers and traffickers hire attorneys to represent them.

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Guiding Principles of the Immigrant Child Advocacy Project

In all actions concerning children, the best interests of the child shall be a primary consideration. United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) Art. 3(1)

The views and wishes of unaccompanied children must be sought and taken into account whenever decisions affecting them are to be made, in accordance with their age and maturity. CRC Art. 12(1)

Decisions that are made regarding unaccompanied children should take account of the long-term interests and welfare of the child whenever possible. CRC Art. 3 (1), Art. 22(1), Art. 22(2)

An unaccompanied child may need a guardian to advocate for the child’s interests. UNHCR Guidelines on Protection and Care, Chapter 10 (1994)

Every child has the right to such protection and care as is necessary for his or her well-being. CRC Art. 3(2)

States shall take appropriate measures to ensure that a child who is seeking refugee status receives appropriate protection and humanitarian assistance in the enjoyment of applicable rights. CRC Art. 22(1)

Family reunion should be the first priority for the child. UNHCR Guidelines on Protection and Care, Chapter 10 (1994)

Children deprived of their families are entitled to special protection and assistance provided by the State. CRC Art. 20(1)

The importance of the traditional and cultural values of each people for the protection and harmonious development of the child must be taken into account. CRC Preamble

Unaccompanied children must be provided with accessible information about, for example, their entitlements, services available, the asylum process, family tracing and the situation in their country of origin. CRC Art 23

Care must be taken not to disclose information about an unaccompanied immigrant child that could endanger the child or the child’s family members in his or her home country. UNHCR Guidelines on Protection and Care (1994)

The permission of unaccompanied children must be sought in an age-appropriate manner before sensitive information is disclosed to other organizations or individuals. CRC Art. 16.

Organizations, government departments and professionals involved in providing services to unaccompanied children must cooperate to ensure that the welfare and rights of unaccompanied children are enhanced and protected. CRC Art. 22(2), point B7

The [Department of Homeland Security and Office of Refugee Resettlement] shall treat all minors in its custody with dignity, respect and special concern for their particular vulnerability as minors. Flores v. Reno Stipulated Settlement Agreement, No CV 85-4544-RJK (Px) (C.D. Cal. Jan. 17, 1997)

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