Children of Women Who Fled Violence in Latin America Can't Be Deported, 3rd Circ. Rules

[caption id="attachment_21316" align="alignnone" width="620"]

Photo: Diego M. Radzinschi/ALM[/caption] Four children who fled to the U.S. with their mothers to escape gang violence in Latin America will not be deported now that a federal appeals court has ruled that their special legal status protects them. In a ruling Monday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit held that the children cannot be deported under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) because they are considered "Special Immigrant Juveniles." The decision comes as the Trump administration's policy of separating immigrant children and parents who have crossed the border in the U.S. has come under intense national scrutiny. Additionally, the court's ruling contrasts with its previous order, denying the children and their parents admission into the country. Since that time, however, a Berks County judge granted the children special status, finding "that reunification with one or both the parents was not viable due to abuse, neglect, or abandonment, and that it would not be in the child’s best interest to be returned to his or her country of origin,” according to Third Circuit Judge Cheryl Ann Krause's opinion. The Special Immigrant Juveniles, or SIJ, designation was enacted by Congress in 1990 to give qualified candidates—those abused, abandoned or neglected alien children who entered the country illegally—asylum. Generally, it is only given to children who have developed "sufficient connections" to the U.S. The legally complex issue in this case revolved around whether the INA strips federal courts of the jurisdiction to hear such cases and, if so, whether it violates the Constitution's suspension clause protecting habeas corpus. "Because SIJ status reflects petitioners’ significant ties to this country and Congress’s determination that such aliens should be accorded important statutory and procedural protections, petitioners are entitled to invoke the suspension clause and petition the federal courts for a writ of habeas corpus," Krause wrote. The women and their children fled from Honduras and El Salvador to escape physical and sexual violence perpetrated by violent gangs in their native countries, according to Krause's opinion. In September 2015, they crossed over the U.S. border with Mexico and were intercepted by border patrol agents four hours after their entry into the country. According to Krause, they were initially detained in Texas but later transferred to a facility in Leesford, Pennsylvania. The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Pennsylvania did not respond to a request for comment. The children were represented by lawyers from Pepper Hamilton. "The decision by the court of appeals will bring tremendous joy to four children and their mothers who fled appalling conditions in Honduras and El Salvador. The court recognized that the suspension clause of the Constitution prohibits the Department of Homeland Security from deporting the four children, because they had previously received 'special immigrant juvenile' status," a statement from the firm said. "This status is granted only after a rigorous process and is based on a state court finding that it is not in the best interests of the child to be sent back to his or her country of origin. The appellate court noted that the Immigration Judge had power to grant parole to the mothers so they could stay in the United States to ensure the well-being of their children."