Xavier Aguilar 
HARLINGEN – The Young Center for Immigrant Children’s Rights is looking for volunteers to assist children through immigration court.
This non-profit organization is helping immigrant children by providing weekly visits, accompaniment to court hearings, and developing best-interest recommendations for government agencies and courts.
Volunteers meet with unaccompanied immigrant children throughout the RGV listening to their hopes, dreams, and stories to advocate for their rights in the immigration system.
“We are listening to children in these facilities,” said Volunteer Coordinator Lilia Murray, “we are giving them a voice, we are giving them a fighting chance for a better future.”
Murray adds that children are left to fend for and advocate for themselves in a system that works tirelessly against them.
Managing attorney for the Harlingen office, Miriam Aguayo, explains the hardships an unaccompanied immigrant minor can face at detention facilities and the impact a volunteer can have.
“The volunteer is accompanying them through the process of being at a facility while they find a family member in that same process they are also going to court or given court dates […] children are not afforded an attorney in immigration court although they are in state court preceding’s so that’s the role we take on we try to find different support systems for them so that they can continue that process,” said Aguayo.
To become a volunteer, you must be 21 years or older, pass a background check, be a bilingual Spanish speaker, and attend mandatory advocate training.
The next volunteer training will be held Saturday, March Fourth, and Sunday, March Fifth at the Harlingen Cultural Arts Center from 9:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
