Norton Letter to D.C. Bar Inquires About Pro Bono Services for Unaccompanied Minors Crossing Border, Coming to D.C.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – To follow up on her meeting with her Congressional Latino Council and other D.C. Latino leaders three weeks ago, the office of Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) today released a letter Norton sent to the president of the District of Columbia Bar, Brigida Benitez, inquiring about the Bar's efforts to help address the needs of unaccompanied minors from Central America crossing the U.S. border and being sent to various jurisdictions, including the District of Columbia. The District has one of the largest concentrations of Central Americans in the nation, with nearly 60,000 residents from El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras. More than 50,000 unaccompanied children have crossed into Texas, and since January of this year, 187 unaccompanied minors from Central America have come to D.C. The D.C. children have now been discharged from the Unaccompanied Alien Children program and are under the care and supervision of families. In her letter, Norton cites the backlog of 360,000 pending immigration cases, including children and their families who are petitioning the courts to avoid deportation back to the countries they have fled.
"The DC Bar has a history of stepping in and offering their expertise when vulnerable communities need them the most," Norton said. "As the number of unaccompanied minors entering the country, and the District, continues to grow, we should explore the possibility of offering pro bono legal services to help these children and their families navigate our legal system so as to ease the backlog of cases pending before our immigration courts."
Central American countries have experienced violent unrest, as many regions have succumbed to the reign of transnational gangs and drug cartels. Families and unaccompanied children have fled for the U.S. border seeking humanitarian asylum. Earlier this month, Norton met with D.C. Latino leaders to discuss recommendations on how the District can assist the children. One of the recommendations was inquiring of the Bar about pro bono legal services to help children and families navigate the immigration system.
The full text of the letter to the District of Columbia Bar follows:
July 29, 2014
Brigida Benitez
President
The District of Columbia Bar
1101 K Street NW, Suite 200
Washington, DC 20005
Dear Ms. Benitez:
I appreciate that the District of Columbia Bar has long been instrumental in advocating for and providing pro bono aid to the most vulnerable and needy residents. I was pleased to learn that the D.C. Bar Pro Bono Program held a meeting in February with the Kids in Need of Defense, University Legal Services and the D.C. Office of the Attorney General to discuss how the D.C. legal community could assist unaccompanied minors. In light of the recent dramatic increase in the number of unaccompanied minors, I write to inquire about what the D.C. Bar is doing to help address their legal needs.
As you know, over 50,000 unaccompanied children have crossed the United States' border since October 2013. This number is expected to rise as these children attempt to escape the violence in their countries, particularly El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras. I am very concerned about the increasing number of children crossing the border, particularly considering that the District has one of the largest Central American populations in the country. Many of these children and some parents crossing the border will not have access to legal assistance, nor are they prepared to navigate through the legal system. Currently, there are over 360,000 pending immigration cases in children and families are petitioning the courts to avoid deportation back to the countries they have fled. This backlog has resulted in waits of months, and even years, for cases to be heard by a judge. Thus far, 187 of the unaccompanied children have been discharged from the Department of Health and Human Services Unaccompanied Alien Children program and are now under the care and supervision of families in D.C.
Thank you for your consideration.
Sincerely,
Eleanor Holmes Norton