Trump Pushes Quicker Deportation Cases For Children Held In U.S. Shelters: Report

The Trump administration is seeking to accelerate deportation cases for migrant children held in U.S. custody, bringing immigration hearings forward by weeks or even months, according to a new report.

A report from CNN detailed that the push will affect unaccompanied children and minors who were returned to government custody after their guardians were detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The hearings determine whether children can remain in the United States or be deported.

Attorneys told the outlet the compressed schedule gives them less time to find records, prepare asylum claims, or secure other legal relief for children already navigating the immigration system. Children as young as 4 have been required to appear repeatedly in court and provide updates on their cases, sometimes without legal representation.

Andrew Nixon, a spokesman for the Department of Health and Human Services, defended the move, saying in a statement that the department “is focused on resolving cases involving unaccompanied children as quickly and efficiently as possible, consistent with the law.”

A White House official also defended the policy, saying the administration “is working to disrupt cartel plots and humanely return trafficked children to their homes and families as expeditiously as possible.”

But child advocates and immigration lawyers say the accelerated timelines could sharply raise the risk that children are deported without a meaningful chance to make their case. In Texas, hearings for about 300 children in shelters were moved up, often with little notice, according to CNN’s report.

Emily Norman of Kids in Need of Defense told CNN that the rapid hearings place children under “enormous pressure,” with some becoming so distressed before court that they wet their pants. The new push follows a series of Trump administration measures targeting unaccompanied migrant children, including efforts to track down hundreds of thousands of minors, cut legal aid for children in immigration proceedings, and issue directives restricting birthright citizenship

The legal-aid cuts have been especially controversial. The Guardian reported last year that the administration halted funding for programs that provided legal representation and attorney recruitment for unaccompanied children, while keeping “Know Your Rights” presentations in place. At the time, 26,000 immigrant children were receiving government-funded legal representation, though many children were already appearing in court without lawyers because of attorney shortages.

Roxana Avila-Cimpeanu of the Florence Immigrant and Refugee Rights Project said the government was “forcing them to fight their immigration cases alone,” while Lindsay Toczylowski of Immigrant Defenders Law Center warned that children without counsel would face higher risks of exploitation and lower chances of obtaining protection.

The latest move also comes as children are staying longer in federal custody. CNN reported that migrant children are now spending nearly seven months in custody on average, and that more than 2,000 children were in HHS custody as of March in facilities and programs across 24 states.