AUGUST 26, 2015, 12:58 PM LAST UPDATED: WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 26, 2015, 11:46 PM
BY SALVADOR RIZZO AND MONSY ALVARADO
STAFF WRITERS |
THE RECORD
Young people living in New Jersey who entered the United States illegally as minors have the right to apply for a federal amnesty program geared toward those under 21 who were battered or abandoned in their home countries, the state Supreme Court ruled Wednesday.
The court handed a victory to three immigrants who walked across the U.S.-Mexico border — one young man from India now living in Passaic County and two teenage girls from El Salvador now in Elizabeth — who argued that they could not return home because they faced life-threatening conditions such as extreme poverty and rampant gang violence.
In a 6-0 decision, the high court ordered new hearings before New Jersey family judges to determine whether the three were abused, neglected or abandoned in their home countries and whether their “best interest” is to stay in the United States.
No matter the outcome, they then may apply to federal authorities for “special immigrant juvenile status,” the court said. Only the U.S. Department of Homeland Security can make the final decision whether to grant them legal status — and, in the case of the two girls, to stop or continue their deportation proceedings, the court said.
Writing for the court, Judge Mary Catherine Cuff also found that the young man was subjected to gross negligence by his mother, his sole caregiver in India, where he was born. That finding, which reversed a lower-court ruling, could help him persuade federal officials to grant him legal status.
https://www.northjersey.com/news/n-j-supreme-court-ruling-a-lifeline-for-young-immigrants-1.1398481