The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that children from other countries do not have the right to a government-funded lawyer when they seek asylum in the United States.
The plaintiff in the case is a teenage boy only identified by the initials C.J. L. G. Court documents say he and his mother fled Honduras after he repeatedly refused to join a gang.
Once in the U.S., the mother could not afford an immigration lawyer. She sought asylum for her son, but the request was denied. So was a subsequent appeal.
On Monday, the 9th Circuit wrote that neither the Due Process Clause nor the Immigration and Nationality Act guarantee the boy the right to a court-appointed lawyer.
The judges concluded the boy will likely be deported, and said while their hearts are with him, the law is not.
