Federal Judge Blocks DHS from Advising Immigrant Children to Self-Deport
A federal judge in Los Angeles has ordered the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to cease advising unaccompanied immigrant children to self-deport, a practice deemed 'blatantly coercive' and in violation of a longstanding court order. The advisals, which were given to recently detained immigrant children, suggested that they could either return to their home countries or face prolonged detention in the U.S. The judge ruled that these advisals violated a 40-year-old court order that prohibits pressuring unaccompanied children to abandon asylum claims. The ruling also mandates that children must be allowed telephone access to contact a parent, relative, friend, or lawyer, emphasizing the unconstitutionality of deporting minors without such contact.