Over the centuries, the United States has been a beacon for young people worldwide try­ing to create a better life for themselves and their families. Most every­one willing and able to leave his or her home country and immigrate to America has found a place in our society. Whether the reason was religious persecution, political backlash, fam­ine, violence, or other reasons, young people who were escaping bad situations in the pur­suit of happiness have arrived at our shores and borders and were essentially welcomed with dignity and respect. Unfortunately, things have recently taken a turn for the worse on our southern border with Mexico.

Due in part to the uptick in the number of deportations by the federal government that was a carryover from the Bush administration and continued during the Obama administra­tion, huge numbers of undocumented young people are being held, oftentimes inhumanely, in large-scale detention centers with little idea about what the government has in store for them. Many of these minors speak little Eng­lish and are not fully aware of their situations, nor are they capable of defending themselves. Receiving adequate legal counsel is well above the budget of most of these young detainees, and the government neither feels they are en­titled to assigned counsel, nor does it provide pro bono legal services to them. Undocument­ed immigrants do not have a right to legal rep­resentation as United States citizens do.

Unlike undocumented immigrants hailing from Mexico, many of these youths are from Central and South America, making it much more difficult for the U.S. to deport them as efficiently as they do Mexican illegals. This is why the U.S. government has resorted to hold­ing them in detention centers for long periods while they await trial.

Because these children do not speak Eng­lish they do not understand legal proceed­ings and courtroom discussions. Many of them came to this country to escape the deep pov­erty in which their parents are mired, or to join their parents who have already made it to America legally or illegally. Because of this, the parents are largely not present during their de­tention and trial, and are helpless to assist their children.

There is no doubt that the laws of this coun­try are absolutely sacrosanct and must be up­held to the fullest. Considering the highly im­portant Jewish tradition of “Dina D’Malchusa Dina” (literally “the law of the land is the law”), the provisions of American law must always be respected. That said, just because the U.S. gov­ernment has been doing something one way for a long time does not mean that is the only or the right way. Every young man and wom­an entering the United States does so with es­sentially the same underlying goal: to improve his or her life. They know that in our system the right to pursue happiness features prom­inently. While this right is essentially reserved for United States citizens, it is a core principle of our society and the hope to achieve it should not be denied to those risking so much to at­tain it.

The American dream, while not an enti­tlement, is something that should be availa­ble to young people making every effort to become part of our society. Looking forward, these young people will eventually be benefi­cial to America. And this is not only a moral is­sue. It is a Homeland Security issue as well. As a constant target of security threats from every direction, the United States must be in full con­trol of its borders, including a security examina­tion of those who would cross them. However, when hoards of disgruntled young people are penned up together for long periods of time, they become vulnerable to anti-American sen­timents and may grow to resent their custodi­ans. One influential disgruntled detainee could easily convince an entire group to smuggle drugs and incite anti-American violence, etc. Because of this, it is essential to keep migrant children detained for as short a period of time as possible so as to mitigate the risk of creating a national security or crime threat.

A third and highly important reason to be wary of the mass detention of undocumented youth is one of pure economics. The govern­ment, (also known as the U.S. taxpayer), spends millions of dollars to lease and maintain the fa­cilities, pay the guards, and feed the detain­ees. The government actually loses even more money by missing out on potential tax reve­nues and potential future income from these youths whose presence stimulates the econo­my through increased production and spend­ing. In essence, we are shooting ourselves in the foot economically by continuing the practice of holding kids, many of whom are not even of high school age, in prison-like facilities as pun­ishment for trying to make it into America.

While the situation facing many young mi­grants is unfortunate, it is not incurable.

Two years after being enacted by President Obama, the Deferred Action for Childhood Ar­rivals (DACA) program has been renewed by the Department of Homeland Security. The program, based on the legal work of our Sen­ior Partner in representing the former Beatle, John Lennon, in deportation proceedings in the 1970s, has already provided relief to over 550,000 young undocumented immigrants. It offers protection from deportation for young undocumented immigrants and has afforded them the ability to obtain work authorization, driver’s licenses, social security cards, and even the ability to travel.

DACA is a very complicated legal pro­gram that can be difficult to navigate with­out guidance. I strongly recommend the help of a skilled immigration attorney to assist an individual through the DACA process. We at Wildes & Weinberg have successfully man­aged and helped numerous young people seeking to use DACA to their benefit and are experts in negotiating the complicated legal terrain for immigrants.

*This article is based on information availa­ble as of its publication and is not intended to be all-inclusive or to furnish advice in a particu­lar case. We are not responsible for any chang­es in regulations that may occur subsequent to publication. Please feel free to contact our office for further information and advice. We sometimes reprint material from government websites.

Michael J. Wildes is the Managing Partner of Wildes and Weinberg, P.C. with offices in New York, New Jer­sey, and Florida. If you would like to contact Michael Wildes, please email him at [email protected] and visit the firm’s website at www.wildeslaw.com.

By Michael J. Wildes, Esq.