Without these services, unaccompanied immigrant children will be forced to represent themselves in immigration court with no legal education, advice, or accompaniment.
On February 18, the Florence Immigrant & Refugee Rights Project received a stop work order on the services we provide through the Unaccompanied Children Program (UCP). Under UCP, the Florence Project provides Know Your Rights presentations and legal education for children in the custody of the Office of Refugee Resettlement, as well as other legal services including court assistance, post-release referrals, shelter advocacy, and direct representation.
“With this move, the U.S. government is officially abandoning thousands of children here in Arizona and across the country to fight their immigration cases alone,” said Roxana Avila-Cimpeanu, Florence Project Deputy Director. “Without the services the Florence Project provides through the Unaccompanied Children Program, children, no matter their age, will be forced to represent themselves in immigration court alone. This is an unprecedented attack on immigrant children. These services are critical not only as a matter of fundamental fairness –children should not be asked to stand up in court alone against a trained government attorney –but also for protecting children from trafficking, abuse, and exploitation and for helping immigration courts run more efficiently.”
The Florence Project is pursuing all possible avenues to continue to provide these services to unaccompanied immigrant children and urges the government to rescind this stop work order immediately.