Politics
Legal coalition files habeas corpus petitions to release migrant children from federal custody
More than 50 organizations form the Children's Due Process Project to challenge prolonged detentions of unaccompanied minors by the Office of Refugee Resettlement.
The short version
- A coalition of more than 50 legal groups launched the Children's Due Process Project to file habeas corpus petitions seeking the release of unaccompanied migrant minors.
- Federal data indicates approximately 1,900 unaccompanied children were in federal custody as of late August, with stays averaging roughly six months.
- The Department of Health and Human Services defended extended timelines, stating intensified sponsor vetting is necessary to protect children from criminal smuggling networks.
- The outcome of pending individual habeas petitions in federal district courts will determine whether officials must immediately release detained children to waiting sponsors.
Key facts
- Over 50 legal organizations and law offices formed the Children's Due Process Project to file individual habeas corpus petitions for children held in federal immigration custody.[The Guardian]
- Roughly 1,900 unaccompanied minors were under federal custody as of late August, having spent an average of 183 days in Office of Refugee Resettlement shelters or foster care.[The Guardian]
- Data from bklg.org indicates that as of the end of July, at least 65 children with ongoing immigration proceedings had been detained by the Office of Refugee Resettlement for over a year.[The Guardian]
- Managing organizations of the initiative include the National Center for Youth Law, the Acacia Center for Justice, The Door, and Loyola University Chicago School of Law's Immigration and Human Rights Clinic.[The Guardian]
- The Department of Health and Human Services stated that increased vetting protocols are required to safeguard children from criminal smuggling networks.[The Guardian]
What remains uncertain
- How federal district courts will rule across the broader caseload of habeas petitions remains to be seen as the legal campaign expands.[The Guardian]