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The Children’s Program

Children’s Program

On any given day, there are approximately 1,700 immigrant children detained in Arizona. In a system that denies immigrants the right to a public defender, regardless of their age, quality representation makes all the difference for these young people.

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Many of the children we work with were abused, abandoned or neglected before coming to the U.S. They are:

  • Unaccompanied children under 18 years old who have crossed the border or been apprehended by immigration authorities without a parent or guardian
  • Held in children’s detention facilities under the control of the Office of Refugee Resettlement

On any given day, thousands of children are detained in facilities across the state of Arizona. They have often been separated from family, encountered dangerous conditions on their journeys to the U.S., and are facing uncertainty while in government custody. Our Children’s Program staff develops and provides high quality, innovative, and trauma-informed free legal education and representation to unaccompanied immigrant children in Arizona.

A Campaign for Justice

The Florence Project is the only organization in Arizona that provides free legal services to detained children in deportation proceedings.

The Florence Project provides:

  • Education through age-appropriate legal orientations
  • Empowerment through role plays where children act out immigration court
  • Direct representation of children in immigration court or referrals to pro bono attorneys in the community

The Florence Project is a national leader in this field, with nearly 20 years of experience and specialized expertise in:

  • Children’s asylum
  • Special immigrant juvenile visas
  • U and T visas to protect survivors of crimes and trafficking

Our Children’s Program

  • Provides weekly know your rights presentations and individual legal screenings to every child detained in Arizona.
  • Advocates and compiles data to inform large scale complaints regarding family separation, the abuse of children in Border Patrol custody, and other injustices.
  • Engages in appellate work, strategic media, and stakeholder conversations to advocate for our clients.
  • Provides full legal representation to every detained child without family reunification options, as well as to those released from detention living in Arizona
  • Represents and engages in community education for child survivors of human trafficking.
  • Places cases with pro bono attorneys in Arizona and accross the U.S. to represent children in partnership.
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