US Fast-Tracks Deportation of Migrant Children
The US administration is accelerating deportation proceedings for migrant children held in detention, with immigration hearings being moved weeks or months earlier to expedite the process, according to a CNN report.
Some of the children are as young as four years old. They are required to appear in court repeatedly and report on the status of their case, in some instances without legal representation and at short intervals.
Andrew Nixon, a spokesman for the Department of Health and Human Services, said many of the children are at risk of being trafficked or exploited, and that some were brought into the United States by smuggling networks.
The administration says expediting procedures is intended to help disrupt those networks and ensure the children are returned to a safe environment as quickly as possible.
The measures have nonetheless raised questions about access to juvenile justice and the conditions of court proceedings.