The Guardian Angels program connects migrant children facing immigration court alone with caring volunteers who will stand by their side.
ceedings and watches for possible violations made by the courts. More than 70,000 unaccompa-
nied and migrant children have crossed into the U.S. from Central America since October 2013, a surge from years past. Teir stories are all unique, yet share a common thread: they have come to the U.S. to seek a better life. Aſter learning that many of these
Angels watching over them
ELCA volunteers support children facing immigration court
By Megan Brandsrud “ W
ill you please tell us your full name?” “How old are you?”
“Is Spanish your best language?” “You must be present at your
next hearing or I will have to order you removed [from the country] in your absence. Do you understand this?” A judge in a Los Angeles court-
room asks these questions and more as she swiſtly moves from one juve- nile immigration case to the next. An interpreter quietly translates from English to Spanish and vice versa as the judge asks questions and defendants answer. Te defendants are children
28
www.thelutheran.org
who have arrived in Los Angeles County aſter being processed at the U.S.-Mexico border and released to parents or guardians who live in the area. When asked for their country of origin, most of the children’s answers were El Salvador, Guate- mala or Honduras—places where poverty and violence cause many children and families to flee. Among the children are a few
people wearing white T-shirts emblazoned with an image of an angel and two children. Tey are Guardian Angels, members of a court-watch program that provides support for children and families going through immigration pro-
children were being deported with- out appropriate time to find counsel or apply for asylum, Alexia Salva- tierra, an ELCA pastor, and Maria Paiva, director for Latino minis- tries for the Southwest California Synod, created the Guardian Angels program. “Tey do not know the immigra-
tion process,” Paiva said. “Tey don’t always know that they need a lawyer or know what to ask for. We are there to help explain the system to them but to also identify ourselves as people of faith who are praying for them.” More than 40 Guardian Angel
volunteers take turns going to court a couple of mornings every week to talk with families and sit in on hearings. Te program partnered with the National Lawyers Guild for volunteer training. Volunteers who speak English sit
in the courtroom and take notes to document proceedings and incon- sistencies. Outside the courtroom, Spanish-speaking volunteers talk with the children and their families. Tey express their support, pray with them, listen to their stories, explain the hearing process, hand out cards that provide information on finding legal counsel and medical care. On the card is a picture of the
©ISTOCK/RICH LEGG/VITCHANAN
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52