Why experts think children are showing up to San Antonio immigration court all alone

SAN ANTONIO — Immigration advocates said they have been seeing more children show up to San Antonio immigration court all alone with no parents or attorneys.

Immigration experts told us children could be showing up by themselves to immigration court hearings out of their family’s fear of deportation.

If a child is going through the immigration process alone, Professor Erica Schommer with St. Mary’s University, said they can’t go through an expedited removal, or quicker deportation.

“My guess is that they’re waiting outside, you know, off site, in close proximity to the immigration court and the kids are going in by themselves because the family members have been made aware that there are ICE agents looking for people to detain,” is how Professor Schommer explained it.

Professor Schommer said minors showing up to court alone more than likely have family nearby waiting for them.

Under ICE protocols and rules, Professor Schommer said anyone who is under 21 and not married is considered a minor.

If that minor crossed the border with a parent or adult family member, their cases usually go through immigration court together and that’s why we’ve seen several mothers detained with their children in the last few weeks.

“What’s called the consolidated proceeding, and so the child wouldn’t be going to court alone. The child is going to court tied to their parents’ case, so the cases are heard together,” said Professor Schommer.

If that minor crossed alone or became separated from the adult who they crossed the border with, they are considered unaccompanied and Professor Schommer said they no longer qualify for an expedited removal, or quicker deportation.

“That’s just simply not an option for ICE to do, because the law that Congress passed in creating expedited removal specifically exempts unaccompanied minors from being processed like that,” said Professor Schommer.

Children who show up to immigration court alone, according to Professor Schommer, probably don’t have an immigration attorney due to recent budget cuts.

“Those funding programs have been cut, and that means that you have children as young as toddlers who can barely talk, who are expected to represent themselves in immigration court,” said Professor Schommer.

We reached out to the Department of Justice to ask about the removal process for unaccompanied minors.

The department directed us to the department of Homeland Security, we have reached out to them twice but still haven’t heard back.