The shortage of immigration judges is one of the major problems affecting the U.S. immigration system. Over the past decade, Congress has increased immigration enforcement funding exponentially, yet has not provided the immigration courts with the funding to respond, creating a major backlog that threatens the integrity of the immigration justice system.
See the ReportBoth unaccompanied alien children and citizen children whose parents are undocumented suffer without legal representation. This article examines their plight without legal advocacy. (Link provides abstract only without institutional or paid access.)
Read the AbstractThis guide provides information about the tens of thousands of children who have fled their homes in Central America and arrived at our southern border. It seeks to explain the basics about who these children are, what happens to them when they arrive in the U.S., laws in place to help them, and proposed legislation to help these children.
Read MoreThis toolkit provides a basic overview of the dynamics of the U.S. immigration system as it impacts children and families in the child welfare system. The toolkit includes practical appendices with resources for accessing vital documents, facilitating communication between child welfare and immigration legal counsel, and a summary of immigration relief options applicable to youth in care.
Get the ToolkitThis report explores the patterns of Central American migration from 2011 to 2014, analyzes the related policy challenges, and provides recommendations of appropriate U.S. and regional policy responses.
Read Full ReportThis report highlights the potential of President Obama’s proposed Deferred Action to Parents of American Citizens and Lawful Permanent Residents program (DAPA) to promote the physical, emotional, and economic well-being of U.S. citizen children of undocumented immigrant parents.
Read Full Report
View the recording of the Albany Law School’s 2015 Warren M. Anderson Breakfast Seminar and access supplementary materials about state-based immigration reform, including information on unaccompanied minors, state benefits and state-issued identification documents for immigrants, and state support for immigrant legal services.
View Seminar Recording Access Supplementary MaterialsThis book analyzes the conditions for children and adolescents in Central and North America who are affected by migration throughout every stage of the process, including in their countries of origin, during transit, in destination countries, and following repatriation.
Read BookWritten by Laila Hlass, this article discusses patterns in the number of Special Immigrant Juvenile Status applicants across states and over time.
Read Full Article
© 2026 CICW.