A 9-year-old boy with autism stepped up to a table in Kansas City Immigration Court and sat with his lawyer’s help. He wore a long-sleeved Spider-Man shirt with jeans and sneakers. He fiddled with the knob attached to the table’s drawer.
The boy was among about a dozen children from the Kansas City metro in the courtroom on Thursday — all waiting to learn if they will be deported in the coming weeks.
Their lawyers got less than a week's notice to bring their young clients — ages 9 to 17 — to court, according to the Kansas City Asylum Clinic. The attorneys said hearings are usually conducted virtually.
The kids filled the benches in the classroom-sized courtroom for the master calendar hearing, the first step in the deportation process. Some played with fidget toys as they sat through the proceedings.
All the children have pending or approved applications for Special Immigrant Juvenile status, a classification for immigrant children who were abused, neglected or abandoned by a parent. The Trump administration ended deferred deportation for children with SIJ status in April.
At this week’s hearing, none of the children — some missing school to appear in person — were ordered deported. Their next hearings are scheduled for the coming weeks. Englander said changing court dates take a toll on children like her client.
“It has been nonstop chaos,” attorney Aly Englander said outside the courtroom on Thursday. “Kids’ hearings have been advanced and then canceled and then advanced again. It makes it near impossible for us to prepare and represent them in the way that they deserve.”
'Rampant fraud'
In April, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services rescinded its deferred action policy for Special Immigrant Juvenile applications completed after May 10, effectively stopping delayed deportation for these children.
Nationwide, at least 150,000 youth with Special Immigrant Juvenile status now face potential deportation, according to the Young Center for Immigrant Children’s Rights. Once deported, these children lose their chances to apply for green cards.
"However, the SIJ system is at great risk of fraud that, if not properly policed by state court judges, can allow dangerous criminals into our country."Department of Homeland Security Press Release
In June, Department of Homeland Security general counsel James Percival asked state court judges to take greater steps “to combat rampant fraud” in the Special Immigrant Juvenile process. In a press release, DHS said “the SIJ system is at great risk of fraud that, if not properly policed by state court judges, can allow dangerous criminals into our country.”
A group of legal services organizations from around the country sued the government in mid-October. A press release from one of the parties, the National Immigration Law Center, said the suit “challenges the government’s broad attempts to rush the deportation of unaccompanied children in violation of their rights and child protection laws passed by Congress.” The press release calls ending the deferred action policy for Special Immigrant Juvenile status “a cruel and unlawful scheme.”
Englander, the Kansas City Asylum Clinic lawyer, said SIJ status children like her client are on an emotional roller coaster.
“She came in today ready to hear the judge order her deported, and many kids are in this position,” Englander said. “The court does not care about the chaos and the impact that has on the kids."
After the hearing, Englander talked to her young client, who wore her hair in a braided bun. The lawyer told the child a deportation order is likely after her next hearing.
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METHODOLOGY
Immigration reporter Steph Conquest-Ware attended the Kansas City Immigration Court master calendar hearing on Oct. 30, 2026, to observe the proceedings. They interviewed attorneys before and after the hearings for context and insights. In addition, they consulted Department of Homeland Security and legal service providers' documents and materials about Special Immigrant Juvenile status.
REFERENCES
USCIS Reveals Rampant Fraud Among Juvenile Immigrant Claims (Department of Homeland Security | June 6, 2026)
Alert: Special Immigrant Juveniles (Department of Homeland Security | April 10, 2026)
Advocates for Unaccompanied Children File Lawsuit to Stop Federal Government’s Fast-Track Deportation Scheme (National Immigration Law Center | Oct. 15, 2026)
TYPE OF ARTICLE
News – Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.
