Thousands of child migrants still lack lawyers
“By pushing cases too quickly through the courts, it is just form over substance — simply a veneer of due process,” said Jennifer Podkul, an attorney and senior program officer at the Women’s Refugee Commission. “Giving a kid a hearing before they have adequate time to find an attorney or to be in a position to articulate a fear of return is not justice.”
In fact, the numbers suggest the full impact of the expedited process has not yet been felt because of the abundance of continuances granted by judges allowing more time for children to seek counsel.