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PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Sarah Nolan, Managing Director of New York Office, Kids in Need of Defense (KIND) on Unaccompanied Children's Legal Services
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Sarah Nolan from Kids in Need of Defense (KIND) testifies about the urgent need for increased funding for legal services for unaccompanied children in New York City. She highlights the growing challenges faced by these children due to increased immigration enforcement and changes in court practices, emphasizing the critical role of legal representation in their cases.
- ICE is now targeting 24,000 unaccompanied children in NYC, increasing the complexity and urgency of legal cases
- Changes in immigration court practices may result in deportation orders for children with pending applications
- KIND and other ICARE members face uncertain funding, with a contract up for renewal at the end of the month
- The city council is urged to increase funding to $6,000,000 for unaccompanied children's legal services
Sarah Nolan
5:14:41
on?
5:14:41
Hi, good morning.
5:14:43
My name is Sarah Nolan.
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I'm the managing director for the New York Office of Kids in Need of Defense, or KIND.
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I'm here today also as a member of the Immigrant Children's Advocacy and Relief Effort, or ICARE.
5:14:54
Thanks so much for the opportunity to testify and for holding this hearing.
5:14:57
We thank you very much for your ongoing support of iCare in providing free and legal representation to unaccompanied children.
5:15:04
As we all know, we're here today facing unprecedented challenges to this shared goal, to provide a quality, ethical, and sustainable removal defense program for unaccompanied children who are part of our community.
5:15:16
As you may know, unaccompanied children have now become a focus of increased immigration enforcement activity in New York City.
5:15:23
Last week, 10 ICE officers showed up to our teen client's residence and she was directed to appear for an ICE check-in where our client's toddler was served with an NTA to initiate removal proceedings against her.
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You can imagine the fear that that instills in our clients.
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And we know it has been confirmed that they are now targeting 24,000 unaccompanied children who are in this position in the city.
5:15:48
So all this means their legal cases obviously become much more complex, time consuming as we need to explain new risks to our clients, accompany them to not only court but now ICE check ins potentially, and monitor their risk of detention.
5:16:01
In tandem, changes in immigration court practice will leave even children who have pending applications for SIDGE, for example, vulnerable to actually having deportation orders entered in against them as opposed to having their cases dismissed in court.
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So while this means that we're already so underfunded, the pressures are even more intense now as we try to push forward cases with urgency and deal with these changes.
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And just when the time for robust funding is most important, it's in the most jeopardy.
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Last month, the interior department did issue a stop work order to KIND and our colleagues, several eye care members.
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This was rescinded, but the contract is up for renewal imminently at the end of this month.
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And the future is extremely uncertain.
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So this is the moment for the city council to meet the moment and increase funding for unaccompanied children's legal services.
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We all know that council makes a huge difference in the ability of kids to win their cases.
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And we beg for support for our holistic model and that also for our colleagues at ICARE.
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Our ask is for about $6,000,000 in renewed funding.
5:17:09
Thank you so much for your ongoing commitment to ensuring that unaccompanied children in New York remain safe and can reach their potential.
5:17:16
Thank you.