The US administration is preparing to speed up the deportation of migrant children in custody, CNN reported on Tuesday, citing administration officials and lawyers representing the children.
Immigration hearings, where a judge ultimately decides if a child can remain in the US or be deported, are reportedly being scheduled weeks or even months earlier, making it harder for attorneys to secure relief in an already complex system.
Children as young as four are being required to appear in court repeatedly and provide case updates within short timeframes, sometimes without legal representation, according to the report.
These frequent hearings can be distressing for children still adjusting to the legal system. Many experience “enormous pressure,” and some even wet their pants before court, said Emily Norman of Kids in Need of Defense.
This shift is part of a broader effort to tighten immigration enforcement on minors who arrived unaccompanied or were returned to government custody after their guardians were detained by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Attorneys and advocates warned that the accelerated timelines could lead to vulnerable children being sent back to dangerous conditions. In Texas, for example, hearings for about 300 children in shelters were suddenly moved up, often with little notice, the report said.
In a statement to CNN, Andrew Nixon, a spokesperson for the Department of Health and Human Services, said the department “is focused on resolving cases involving unaccompanied children as quickly and efficiently as possible, consistent with the law.”
A White House official told CNN the Trump administration “is working to disrupt cartel plots and humanely return trafficked children to their homes and families as expeditiously as possible.”
The report also pointed out that migrant children are spending nearly seven months in custody on average, far exceeding the time kids have previously been in custody.
As of March, there were more than 2,000 migrant children in the custody of Health and Human Services, which funds facilities and programmes across 24 states for the care of unaccompanied migrant children.
