Immigration
Young people from immigrant backgrounds in Massachusetts are facing increased threats of detention and deportation at the hands of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). This includes when these young people come into contact with the juvenile or criminal legal system for exhibiting adolescent behavior or acting out of trauma. Even young people who have no record of legal system involvement have found their presence in the country at-risk. This is a fundamental issue of human rights, compounded by the pervasive race and ethnic disparities in our state legal and carceral systems. There is a strong need to address policies to protect immigrant youth from the irreparable harm and negative outcomes that can arise due to contact with local, state and federal law enforcement.
When a young person is sent into the juvenile legal system, the ramifications of that decision remain with them far beyond the conclusion of the court case. There are "collateral consequences" of a youth being found delinquent in a juvenile court matter that can create barriers to education, employment, military service, and public benefits, greatly hampering the ability to learn and move on youthful mistakes as they step into adulthood. For immigrant youth, especially those who are undocumented, there are specific and significant additional collateral consequences of a juvenile or criminal court case. These include being pushed into a pipeline to immigration detention and deportation for adolescent behavior or being prevented, while still coming of age, from ever being able to gain United States citizenship.
For more on the link between immigration and juvenile justice click below.