They are calling it a "humanitarian crisis" - the increase in undocumented children trying to enter the United States illegally, and the conditions they find themselves in once they get here.
It is estimated that this year more than 90,000 children will make the dangerous journey from Central America and Mexico and attempt to illegally enter the U.S. These children are risking their lives to make the journey. Many of them are fleeing violence in their home countries, others are hoping to find their parents once they arrive here.
Detention centers for undocumented immigrant children are at maximum capacity due to the large number of minors who attempt to make the crossing but are caught by the Border Patrol.
Faced with the gravity of the situation, a small group of congressional Democrats on Monday introduced a bill called VIVA (Vulnerable Immigrant Voice Act of 2014), which aims to help these children by providing them with legal representation in immigration courts after being apprehended by the Border Patrol.
The bill has just been submitted to Congress and it is not yet known whether it will be approved.
Earlier, the U.S. Senate passed S. 744, an immigration reform bill that would provide legal representation to certain minors when they are in deportation proceedings. S. 744 is stalled in the U.S. House of Representatives where it has not been able to be debated.
Currently, immigration law does not dictate that children must have an attorney in immigration court.
For years, I have advocated to correct this major flaw, as there is no way a 3, 5, 10 or 15 year old can defend against deportation in court.
NBC Los Angeles and Noticiero Telemundo interviewed me to talk about the problem. The following are the reports:
