Justice Dept memo warns judges against being too sympathetic in child immigrant cases
Source: The Hill
BY JOHN BOWDEN - 12/23/17 09:06 AM EST
A Justice Department memo issued this week contains changes to guidelines for questioning unaccompanied and undocumented immigrant children, as well as directs judges to try such cases fairly despite "sympathetic allegations" that such cases may include.
The memo issued Dec. 20 by the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) and obtained by Reuters eliminates previously-issued language instructing officials how to conduct “child-sensitive questioning” and requests judges be skeptical of minors who it says may be abusing the system.
An unaccompanied minor “generally receives more favorable treatment under the law than other categories of illegal aliens,” the memo claims, which creates “an incentive to misrepresent accompaniment status or age in order to attempt to qualify for the benefits.”
Other changes to department policy include changes to rules meant to make unaccompanied minors comfortable before court proceedings. Language that previously allowed children to explore a courtroom before trial proceedings, including the judge's bench, has been changed to allow this only “to the extent that resources and time permit." The judge's bench is now strictly off-limits.
Read more: http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/366286-justice-dept-memo-warns-judges-against-being-too-sympathetic-in-child
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man do i feel the same!!!!!!!!! 
