NJ's Legal Representation for Children and Youth Program (LRP)⚖️
There is no guaranteed right to counsel for immigrant children and youth facing the byzantine immigration system and the threat of deportation.
The New Jersey Consortium for Immigrant Children (NJCIC) was founded in May 2015 to mobilize allies across immigration law and other disciplines in welcoming and serving an unprecedented 80% increase of unaccompanied children to New Jersey. This movement of allyship increased in strength and catapulted into action during the height of the family separation crisis, with a more than twofold increase of unaccompanied new to New Jersey and without strong networks of support nor access to critical legal relief and interrelated services.
In response, NJCIC's community of practice, the Consortium, led targeted statewide advocacy in early 2021 for increased and equitable access to justice for the growing community of unaccompanied children putting down roots in the Garden State tasked with "finding" legal representation. Governor Phil Murphy signed this effort into law as part of the state budget in the Summer of 2021, establishing New Jersey's Legal Representation for Children and Youth Program (LRP). Modeled after California's trailblazing program, NJ's LRP is the nation's second state-funded legal program to offer free, high-quality, child-centered direct representation to unaccompanied children. It is the first of its kind also to represent other young immigrants similarly situated to unaccompanied children. Administered by the Office of New Americans (ONA) in partnership with Kids in Need of Defense (KIND), NJCIC serves as 1) the central intake and referral hub for this innovative LRP and 2) also provides direct representation as one of eight legal service providers part of this effort.
Through our role hosting the LRP's hotline, we conduct language-specific screenings and triage young immigrants to peer legal service providers and, when possible, other vital services and actionable information. As one of the LRP's legal service providers, we also provide direct representation, advice, and counsel to unaccompanied children and other similarly situated youth who qualify for various immigration protections such as asylum, Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS), U visas, and T visas.
