How Refugee Kids Are Turning to State Courts for Protection

"Walding and other pro bono attorneys in Texas have found a more hospitable venue that considers children to be, well, children: family court.  It’s a venue that puts the welfare of the child front and center more than any other in the U.S. justice system, at least theoretically.  In the current heat of the minors’ crisis on the border, family court judges—who typically rule on issues of divorce, custody, and child support—are proving to be a benevolent force, offering a sort of escape hatch from the legal drama unaccompanied minors coming from Central America face.  “In Texas family court there is discussion about what is in the best interest of the child and more of a semblance of due process,” Walding explains.  If the child can get access to a lawyer who can take them through family court, then they can build a case for a Special Immigration Juvenile (SIJ) visa, which could then get the child a green card and legal resident status.  The use of such visas has exploded in recent years.  Originally created to protect abused children being cared for in the U.S., it was given to just two children in 1992.  The number went up 1,200 after Congress widened the criteria of who could qualify in 2008.  As of June of this year over 3,900 petitions for an SIJ have been filed." - Natasha Vargas-Cooper, The Intercept, Sept. 3, 2014.