NEW PROGRAM PLANNED TO ASSIST JUVENILE ASYLUM SEEKERS While the country’s attention has been focused on the plight of young Elian Gonzalez for the past seven months, other children have been entering the US seeking a better life. Unlike Elian, who began his voyage with his mother, and stayed with family in Miami, many of these children are completely alone, both on their journey to the US and after they arrive here.
To address the issues these children face, a group of nongovernmental agencies have developed a program designed to assist them in presenting their cases. The program, which will begin later this summer in the Phoenix, Arizona area, will link volunteers with unaccompanied minors who are being held in detention in the Phoenix area. The volunteers will help the children with their immigration questions, explain their situation, and most important, be a friend to them.
Each year the INS apprehends 4,600 unaccompanied minors. No one knows how many more children arrive in the US and escape INS detection.
The agencies involved in the project are the Women’s Commission for Refugee Women and Children, the University of Chicago, the Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service, and the Florence Immigrant and Refugee Rights Project. They estimate that the cost of the year-long program will be about $250,000.
The volunteer would ideally be someone of the same ethnic background as the child, and would be trained in immigration procedures, as well as in how to provide emotional support. The organizers of the project hope that using the volunteers will help the children better present their claim for asylum. < Back | Next > Disclaimer: This newsletter is provided as a public service and not intended to establish an attorney client relationship. Any reliance on information contained herein is taken at your own risk. | 
