Re: “Trump administration halts funding for legal representation of migrant children” (March 21, Nation & World Politics):
As a 16-year-old student reporter in Kenmore, I generally shy away from editorializing. However, President Donald Trump’s administration has recently cut programs that provide legal representation to unaccompanied minors without legal immigration status — a move so illogical and backward that I cannot stay silent.
President Trump claims to be reducing illegal immigration, but many of his executive orders simply tear down existing legal resources for immigrants. Case in point, his administration has now removed government-funded representation for the most vulnerable group of immigrants — unaccompanied children. By doing this, the federal government is stranding thousands of minors, many of whom are too young to understand the legal process. Regardless of one’s beliefs on immigration, removing the few support networks available for unaccompanied children and targeting legal immigration pathways does not provide a solution; it merely creates a hostile and confusing environment.
Unaccompanied immigrant children are already at extremely high risk for trafficking, abuse and exploitation. Many don’t speak English. Taking away their legal protection is not a solution to illegal immigration — in fact, it only serves to make the legal process more difficult for those who need protection the most.
Langley Foster, Kenmore