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Since 2014, migrant youth applying to get permanent residency through a special program for abused, neglected or abandoned children shot up, while the cap on green cards remained the same, leading to thousands of young immigrants waiting 3+ years to get a green card.
They can't work. They don't qualify for public assistance. They pay medical bills out of pocket. And the US is trying to deport them. These are the stakes for up to 26,000 victimized migrant youth with approved visas who wait for years to get green cards.
To get this special status, a young migrant must first go to state juvenile court to request a ruling of abuse, neglect or abandonment by one or both parents, and a custody decision. The problems can start there.
In most states, these young migrants age out of juvenile court at 18 years old. But federal law says they qualify up to 21. We spoke to applicants who moved from one state to another, just to be able to apply and heard about others who aged out of eligibility entirely.
Once a ruling is approved, they must submit an application to the federal government. If the application is approved, the years long wait begins. Most of them are simultaneously in deportation proceedings.
“I am always afraid,” said one teen. “I have to walk extremely straight and not to do anything that will hurt my case. But I don’t have a choice. I have to work. And I know it’s going to be three very long years until I get my green card.”
Critics of the program argue that it is exploited by families in search of economic opportunities and gangs planning to conduct criminal activity in the U.S. The Trump Administration tried to halt the program altogether, claiming it was riddled with loopholes.
But young people we spoke with described a different reality. They said their lives were on hold and that they felt forced to make tough choices that could jeopardize their cases. Many of them fled their home countries to escape gang violence or parents who abused them.
On his first day, President Joe Biden unveiled a comprehensive immigration reform bill that includes provisions to eliminate the per-country caps that contributed to the backlog of young immigrants and to speed up green card applications.
But the bill's prospects of passing a polarized Congress are highly uncertain, and it's unclear whether the proposed changes would benefit these young immigrants.
You can read the full story here: https://www.themarshallproject.org/2021/01/28/these-young-people-were-told-they-could-stay-in-the-u-s-they-might-get-deported-anyway
It took months to report this story and a huge team effort to get it off the ground. Thank you to @Documentedny for partnering with us, and to @eads for his editing and guidance on every single part of this piece.
To @juliaskuo for the beautiful and thoughtful illustrations. Here website: https://juliakuo.com
And to @JuliaPrestonNow @billkeller2014 @ultracasual @susanchira for helping us whip this story piece into shape.
As well as @LegalAidNYC @rayraydson @CCharitiesUSA @supportKIND and the @CornellLaw FarmWorker's Clinic and @projlifeline for lending us their time and experience to report out this story. As well as all the young SIJ applicants who were brave enough to speak with us.
