Attorneys at the Legal Aid Society are crying foul over immigration policies that allow thousands of young immigrants who are eligible for green cards to remain at risk of deportation.

A report by The Marshall Project shows that some 26,000 young people stuck in limbo are still vulnerable to deportation, despite many of them having fled their home countries to escape gang violence or parents who abused them.

Nearly all of these young people can expect to wait three or more years to become legal residents because of limits on green cards and recent court slowdowns due to COVID-19. Lawyers from Legal Aid said that although requests are now being approved more often, thousands of young immigrants who are eligible for green cards remain at risk of deportation.

“The Department of Homeland Security has already said that these vulnerable and victimized children should be permitted to stay, yet the same agency insists that they should be removed from the United States,” said Beth Krause, a supervising attorney at The Legal Aid Society. “It’s illogical. It’s a waste of time and money. It backs things up.”