In many Latino cultures, the “Quinceañera” is the party in which we celebrate a young girl’s journey into adulthood on her 15th birthday. Although today it is more like an excuse to have an elaborate celebration in the past this was marked as a change where the girl was considered an adult. In the U.S. people are not considered adults until much later. They cannot drive cars until 16, cannot vote, marry (without parental consent) or enter into contracts until they are 18. Even local Albright College doesn’t allow its students to live off campus like adults and instead forces them to live on campus to “protect” them, showing them that they don’t trust them to make decisions over housing.
If in America, we don’t consider minors capable of even entering into simple contracts for housing how is it that we trust toddlers as young as 3 and 4 years old to defend themselves in immigration court without attorneys. How can we force a 12-year-old to fight for their Asylum rights not to get sent back to a country where they will be tortured without the assistance of an attorney? In a country that babies our youth at every turn what makes immigrant children so capable that they are forced to fight for their lives all alone?
The U.S. has a long history of abusing children especially those that are minorities or poor. From past work abuses to judges selling kids to prisons and mass juvenile detention we see that those who cannot vote are often abused. So, as you sit with your kids this spring, be thankful that they are not immigrant’s children being forced to fight for their lives without anyone to defend them.
By: Abraham Cepeda, Attorney.
Cultura Law
