Toddlers in Court: The Cruel Absurdity of Trump's Child Separation Policy

by Nomad

According to attorneys in Texas, California and Washington, D.C., children as young as three have been ordered to appear in court (without legal representation) for their own deportation proceedings.

You might be surprised to learn that requiring unaccompanied minors to go through deportation alone is not a new practice. However under Trump's zero-tolerance policy, More children - and some much younger- are now being ordered to appear before a judge.

Lindsay Toczylowski, executive director of Immigrant Defenders Law Center in Los Angeles. explained:

“We were representing a 3-year-old in court recently who had been separated from the parents. And the child — in the middle of the hearing — started climbing up on the table,. It really highlighted the absurdity of what we’re doing with these kids.”

How on earth could a child- a toddler- ever mount a proper legal defense himself in a US court? Toczylowski points out:

“The parent might be the only one who knows why they fled from the home country, and the child is in a disadvantageous position to defend themselves.”

Here's a CNN interview with Toczylowski from last month.

Dr. Benard Dreyer, director of the division of developmental-behavioral pediatrics at New York University School of Medicine, calls it “unconscionable” and "grossly inappropriate.”

To get a better idea of that, check out this re-enactment video. (Please note, this video was made before Trump initiated his zero-tolerance policy. The situation has not improved)

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