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Full-Text Articles in Immigration Law
Deconstructing And Reconstructing Rights For Immigrant Children, Erin B. Corcoran
Deconstructing And Reconstructing Rights For Immigrant Children, Erin B. Corcoran
Law Faculty Scholarship
Children rights advocates and scholars alike continue to call for the development of innovative and alternative rights models, which specifically provide for an expansive conceptualization of children’s rights. Central to their calls for reform is a simultaneous recognition that children’s rights must embody agency – a child’s voice (a proxy for autonomy) – free from governmental interference, as well as the establishment of certain fundamental “needs” that place an affirmative obligation on the State to ensure the child has, and affirmatively provide, when necessary. Reimagining children’s rights also requires reforming our laws in such a way that reflects children as …
Getting Kids Out Of Harm's Way: The United States' Obligation To Operationalize The Best Interest Of The Child Principle For Unaccompanied Minors, Erin B. Corcoran
Getting Kids Out Of Harm's Way: The United States' Obligation To Operationalize The Best Interest Of The Child Principle For Unaccompanied Minors, Erin B. Corcoran
Law Faculty Scholarship
The government estimates by the end of the fiscal year over 90,000 children will enter the United States. According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees 58% of these children were forcibly displaced and are potentially in need of international protection. However, in U.S. immigration law unaccompanied children are often seen as illegal migrants and law enforcement prioritizes their “alien” status over their status as children. As the crisis escalates, many of these children are being housed at emergency shelters in icebox-cold cells – nicknamed hierleras, Spanish for freezers, with no access to food or medical care, while DHS …
Bypassing Civil Gideon: A Legislative Proposal, Erin B. Corcoran
Bypassing Civil Gideon: A Legislative Proposal, Erin B. Corcoran
Law Faculty Scholarship
Eighty-four percent of immigrants appearing before immigration judges are unrepresented. Immigration judges are overwhelmed with the dual role of adjudicating cases and serving as counsel to pro se individuals appearing before them. In addition, due to the rising costs of retaining a lawyer, immigrants are turning to immigrant consultants. These incompetent and unscrupulous individuals are preying on vulnerable immigrants and engaging in the unauthorized practice of law. In addressing unmet legal needs for immigrants, most advocacy efforts for immigrants regarding the acquisition of competent representation focus on persuading the courts that immigrants appearing before an immigration judge have a constitutional …