Youth Program

Approximately 8,000 immigrant children traveling without parents, guardians or valid immigration documents are detained nationally by the US government each year while the government decides if they should be permitted to remain in the US or returned to their home countries. Who are the children in immigration detention? These children are detained for an extended period of time under a variety of programs run by the Office of Refugee Resettlement (“ORR”) and administered by local ORR subcontractors. The Los Angeles-area ORR subcontractor is Crittenton Services in Fullerton, which administers an ORR shelter for unaccompanied Minors, an ORR foster care program for minors unable to be reunited with family in the US, and an ORR “unaccompanied refugee minors” (URM) program for child refugees and victims of trafficking.

These children are scared, alone and desperately in need of someone to help guide them through the Immigration Court process. Many children have valid defenses to deportation. They may be eligible for asylum if they have a well-founded fear that they will face persecution upon return to their home country. They may have been abused or abandoned by their parents and therefore be eligible for a green card through “Special Immigrant Juvenile” status. Victims of trafficking or other crimes may be eligible for T or U Visas.

Many people are unaware that children in removal proceedings receive no assistance from the federal government for their legal representation. These children are effectively left to their own devices in a complex and harsh immigration system. Esperanza is the only LA-area organization to provide free legal assistance to immigrant youths in all of the following four program areas:

ORR shelter for unaccompanied minors in Fullerton, CA (administered by Crittenton Services)
ORR federal foster care program in Fullerton, CA (administered by Crittenton Services)
ORR “unaccompanied refugee minors” (URM) program in Fullerton, CA (administered by Crittenton Services)
Minors released from government custody to LA-area sponsors

Esperanza provides the following pro bono legal services to minors in removal proceedings:

Conducts “Know Your Rights” classes for detained minors;
Conducts interviews with detained minors to screen for defenses against deportation;
Represents in Immigration Court proceedings vulnerable minors who cannot be released from detention while their deportation proceedings are pending;
Matches minors with pro bono counsel from the local private bar;
Acts as friend of the court at the Los Angeles Immigration Court Juvenile Docket to advocate for detained minors; and
Advocates for more humane treatment of minors in immigration custody.

KIND Fellowship

Esperanza’s Youth Project is home to a Kids In Need of Defense (KIND) Fellow, an attorney position that exclusively provides legal representation to immigrant children fighting deportation. The Fellowship is generously funded by KIND, which was founded by the Microsoft Corporation and actress and humanitarian Angelina Jolie to create a pro bono movement of law firms, corporate law departments, NGOs and volunteers committed to providing fair, competent and compassionate legal counsel to unaccompanied immigrant children in the U.S. The KIND Fellow represents detained immigrant youth, as well as those immigrant youth recently released from detention. The Fellowship plays a vital role in Los Angeles because it provides representation in some of the most complicated or time sensitive cases.