The Legal Aid Society ensures every New Yorker has access to justice through comprehensive legal representation in courts throughout the five boroughs. We provide free legal representation to low-income New Yorkers on a range of issues. Legal Aid’s work is grounded in the experiences and input of our clients; we adapt to serve them best. Where laws fail, we champion new laws. When challenges arise, we rise to meet them.

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New York City neighborhoods are like no other. For decades, our communities have served as the foundation of belonging and as a source of identity, safety and security for immigrant families and children, tying an unknown familiarity into a heartfelt sense of home. All while weaving together culture, language, and identity that shape a community. Yet, through mechanisms and tactics of fear and trauma, the Trump administration seeks to undermine this through force that is violent, and at times silent. An impact felt especially among immigrant youth and families caught between the child welfare & immigration system, at risk of separation and deportation. In turn, weakening their sense of belonging to the very communities they seek and call home.

The child welfare system often overlooks and falls short on acknowledging a family’s identity and unique barriers they are confronted with. Immigrant youth and children are forced to navigate rapid transition, including new and unknown caregivers, adjusting to cultural norms, and often alternating placements. And the absence of their parents or without a familial custodial, contributes to the likelihood of language decline and cultural erosion.

The frameworks of these two systems, while alike, diverge dramatically in the severity of consequences and depth of trauma inflicted on families and children. While separate functions, the two have the influence and control to enforce separation, often justified as securing safety, security, and well-being. Assigning authority to a set of actors to cast judgement and intervene in mechanisms that could drastically change a family and child’s development. However, at a minimum, the child welfare system preserves certain parental rights and involvement, meanwhile virtually none of it exists within the immigration system. Instead, uncertainty is a guarantee. This is where our work proves vital, because while the outcome may not ultimately be in our hands, through our representation and advocacy, we navigate the daunting system together.

As we mark a year into our work, we reflect on our experiences and the stories of our clients as a reminder of our commitment to confronting the gap between the child welfare and immigration system. Our holistic approach ensures that we highlight and address the unique vulnerabilities immigrant families and children are expected to navigate, often unaccompanied in their journey to seeking relief and stability in the communities they seek or call home.

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Steven Espinoza is a Paralegal Client Advocate with The Legal Aid Society’s Juvenile Immigration Unit.