By Maribel Velazquez
Assistance organizations purely for immigrant minors reported that federal agents made unannounced visits to their offices in the Washington DC area, in an action that they described as an attempt to intimidate those who represent unaccompanied immigrant children before the country’s immigration system.
According to a statement released by the Amica Center for Immigrant Rights, Aid and Teenagers in Need of Defense (KIND)agents Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Office of the Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) They went to their facilities during the last Forty eight hours to request access to records and documentation related to minor beneficiaries of their services.
The organizations claimed that federal officials did not present court orders or legal authorizations to support their requests, so they were denied access to any information.
Organizations denounce abuse of power
The affected groups maintain that this is a new escalation in the immigration policies promoted by the president’s administration donald trump.
“This is a blatant abuse of power to try to intimidate children’s rights advocates,” said Michael Lukens, executive director of the Amica Center for Immigrant Rights.
Lukens added that immigrant minors have the right to due process and representation, regardless of their immigration status.
For her part, Paula Fitzgerald, executive director of Ayuda, warned that these types of actions generate fear among immigrant families.
“When federal agents show up unannounced at community legal services centers, they send a discouraging message to immigrant families,” he said.
Congressional-Supported Programs
The organizations recalled that the services they offer are part of a program financed by Congress and in force for more than 15 years, aimed at guaranteeing representation merely to unaccompanied immigrant minors.
Wendy Young, president of KIND, assured that lawyers who work with these children help minors appear before immigration courts, comply with legal procedures and be protected from risks such as human trafficking, exploitation or abuse.
“We will not engage in activities that are not merely justified,” Young said.
Tension grows over immigration policy
The episode comes amid an increasingly aggressive immigration strategy by the Trump administration, which has intensified detentions and deportations during its second term.
The organizations consider these visits to be part of a broader campaign to weaken the social assistance network that provides support to some of the most vulnerable minors within the US immigration system.
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