The VBA Journal is the official publication of The Virginia Bar Association.
Issue link: http://vba.epubxp.com/i/436865
24 • VBA JOURNAL 2 4 • V B A J O U R N A L 24 • VBA JOURNAL D uring the past several months the news has been replete with stories of unaccompanied children journeying from Central America across Mexico and entering the United States illegally. Te number of children making these journeys by them- selves has doubled each year since 2010. U.S. authorities estimate that between 60,000 and 80,000 children will seek safe haven this year. Immigrant rights agencies project that number could soar to 130,000 next year. Tat is more than all the people who came over from Cuba during the Mariel Boatlift of 1980, which would make this the largest refugee crisis on U.S. soil since then. 1 Regardless of individual opinions on the political issue of illegal immigrants crossing into the United States, we indeed "are talking about a large number of children with- out their parents, who will arrive to our border – hungry, thirsty, exhausted, scared and vulnerable." 2 It is easy to imagine that this sort of immigrant crisis is the jurisdiction solely of the United States federal gov- ernment, including U.S. immigration service, and also the federal courts. However, there is a component to this is- sue that directly involves Virginia state courts. While the majority of issues involving unaccompanied immigrant children are handled in the juvenile and domestic relations district court, one potential component could be handled directly in Virginia's circuit courts. Te total number of immigrant children housed in Vir- ginia is unknown at this time. However, between Jan. 1 and Aug. 31 2014 almost 4,000 children had been placed in Virginia. More than 1,000 of these children arrived in August. Under the Immigration and Nationality Act, or INA, Congress provided for special status of juveniles known as Special Immigrant Juvenile Status, or SIJS. 3 Tis sta- tus provides a form of humanitarian relief for immigrant children who have been abandoned, abused, neglected or similarly mistreated as defned under state law, not federal law. Once the state court makes such a fnding regarding a juvenile, the child is immediately eligible to apply for law- ful permanent residence status and a Green Card. CRISIS IMMIGRATION LAW THE ROLE OF VIRGINIA COURTS IN ADDRESSING UNACCOMPANIED ALIEN MINORS Refugee BY RICHARD E. GARRIOTT JR.