Q&A
Council Member Hanif inquires about minor verification process and accounting for unaccompanied youth
1:03:17
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89 sec
Council Member Shahana K. Hanif asks the advocates about the time it typically takes to verify someone as a minor and whether all unaccompanied migrant youth are accounted for. Kimberly Schertz from the Legal Aid Society responds, highlighting concerns about unaccounted youth and the challenges in the verification process.
- Not all unaccompanied minor youth are accounted for, raising concerns about those without strong advocates
- The verification process for minors can take about a month once cases are escalated to ACS's attention
- Unfortunately, unaccompanied youth often need an advocate to help them navigate the process effectively
Shahana K. Hanif
1:03:17
Thank you.
1:03:17
And and two questions for our advocates.
1:03:21
How long does it typically take to verify someone is, in fact, a minor?
1:03:27
And then are all unaccompanied migrant youth accounted for?
Kimberly Schertz
1:03:33
I can for the second question, I can certainly say not all on a company minor youth are accounted for.
1:03:39
And we're particularly concerned because of just how long it took for us as advocates to finally get ACS to believe these youth.
1:03:52
And we know that there are so many more who have not been brought to our attention, and we're concerned that once they hear the answer no, they they're not maybe they don't have stronger advocates to help them navigate the process.
1:04:04
Maybe they don't know to reach out to us.
1:04:10
But in terms of how long it's taken, the youth that we've assisted so far, I think it took about a month once we started escalating their cases to ACS's attention.
1:04:25
But that doesn't account for previous advocacy efforts and contacts with ACS on behalf of those youth.
1:04:33
So it does go beyond that month, but once they brought to our attention, it was about a month.
Shahana K. Hanif
1:04:38
So, basically, on a on a company, you'd need an advocate to help them get through the process.
Kimberly Schertz
1:04:43
Unfortunately, unfortunately, and it should not be that way.