A Child-Centred Approach to Representing Children in Immigration Legal Systems

Chapter in Oxford Handbook of Migrant Children and Child-Centred Approach (2024 Forthcoming)

Tulane Public Law Research Paper No. 22-7

28 Pages Posted: 19 Oct 2022 Last revised: 6 Sep 2023

See all articles by Laila Hlass

Laila Hlass

Tulane University - Law School

Lindsay Muir Harris

University of San Francisco School of Law

Date Written: September 2023

Abstract

As the number of accompanied and unaccompanied child immigrants migrating has increased, U.S. based non-profit organizations have developed practices specializing in representing immigrant children. Alongside this growing area of practice, scholars have written about the need for children to access lawyers in immigration proceedings, as well as how to incorporate best interest principles into immigration proceedings. However, little has been written specifically about how lawyers for immigrant children can best adopt a child-centred approach in their representation.

Children have different abilities than adults, impacted by their developmental stage, trauma history, and other experiences they have had relating to their identity. This impacts how they tell their histories, which is a critical part of seeking status and protection in immigration legal systems. Child-centred approaches are strength-based practices which promote participation and protection of young people, and necessarily challenge discrimination children face. We argue that child-centred representation must integrate critical lawyering, which includes anti-racism and trauma-centred lawyering practices to address immigrant children’s particular needs, promoting their participation, protection and anti-discrimination. Critical lawyering involves using an intersectional lens to collaborate with clients, communities, and colleagues “with an eye toward interrogating privilege differentials in these relationships and accounting for existing historical and structural biases.” Trauma-centred lawyering recognizes and accounts for the role that trauma plays in the lawyer-client relationship. A child-centred approach in representation should be integrated into every stage of lawyering for immigrant children, including all stages of representation such as interviewing, counseling, developing case theory, preparing applications, appearing in court, and direct examination. Ultimately, a child-centred approach utilizes core tenets of critical lawyering to zealously advocate for and ensure that children’s wishes are understood and communicated to decision-makers. This means ensuring children truly understand their rights and that they are meaningfully participating in their legal cases at every stage, free from external factors that a child may view as coercive.

Keywords: immigration, immigrant children, lawyering, immigrant youth, children's rights, juvenile law, unaccompanied minor, deportation, migrant children, immigration enforcement, attorney-client, trauma-informed, representation, professional responsibility, attorneys, child representation

Suggested Citation

Hlass, Laila and Harris, Lindsay M, A Child-Centred Approach to Representing Children in Immigration Legal Systems (September 2023). Chapter in Oxford Handbook of Migrant Children and Child-Centred Approach (2024 Forthcoming), Tulane Public Law Research Paper No. 22-7, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4251731

Laila Hlass (Contact Author)

Tulane University - Law School ( email )

6329 Freret Street
New Orleans, LA 70118
United States
5048628815 (Phone)

Lindsay M Harris

University of San Francisco School of Law ( email )

2130 Fulton Street
San Francisco, CA 94117
United States

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