ICE Establishes Juvenile Dockets in 49 US Immigration Courts
About the Initiative
The United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency has established specialized “juvenile dockets” in 49 immigration courts across the US for Caribbean and other migrant children and teenagers in immigration proceedings.
Objective
ICE principal legal advisor, Kerr Doyle, said the juvenile docket will help identify and support children and teenagers who may be victims of human trafficking or child exploitation.
Partnership
The initiative is being undertaken in collaboration with the Office of the Principal Legal Advisor (OPLA) and the US Department of Justice Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR).
Implementation
As a result, specially trained OPLA staff will manage all cases on EOIR’s juvenile dockets, which will help ensure tailored, consistent, child-centred support for juvenile non-citizens. These case managers will be trained in identifying signs of child exploitation, as well as available avenues for protection.
Maximizing Opportunities
The juvenile docket will also maximize opportunities for children and teenagers appearing in immigration courts to access outside legal advice and counsel. Juvenile points of contact will be trained to recognize common indicators of these crimes in order to seek engagement by ICE colleagues to provide protection and support to these children when needed, while ensuring fair adjudication of their cases before the court.
Framework Development
To aid in the consistent implementation of this important national initiative, ICE said OPLA has developed a general framework to handle cases in immigration proceedings on the juvenile dockets. The framework will also streamline review of requests for prosecutorial discretion (PD) filed by or on behalf of Caribbean and other juvenile noncitizens, and will collaborate with attorneys, nongovernmental organizations and nonprofit organizations, who represent juvenile noncitizens on discretionary requests.
Conclusion
The establishment of juvenile dockets is an important step in ensuring the well-being of children throughout their immigration proceedings. This initiative will provide tailored, consistent support to juvenile non-citizens and ensure that they receive the protection and support they need.
FAQs
* What is the purpose of the juvenile dockets?
+ The purpose is to provide specialized support to children and teenagers who are in immigration proceedings and may be victims of human trafficking or child exploitation.
* Who will manage the cases on the juvenile dockets?
+ Specially trained OPLA staff will manage all cases on EOIR’s juvenile dockets.
* What training will the case managers receive?
+ Case managers will be trained in identifying signs of child exploitation, as well as available avenues for protection.
* What are the benefits of the juvenile docket?
+ The juvenile docket will maximize opportunities for children and teenagers to access outside legal advice and counsel, and will ensure fair adjudication of their cases before the court.