We just received word that Wendy Davis has called on the Obama administration to provide attorneys guardian ad litem to advocate for the best interest of child refugees as part of her response to the crisis of minors and families arriving at our border. This is in addition to her widely publicized call for an increase in immigration judges.

The call for attorneys guardian ad litem was included in a letter Senator Davis addressed to President Obama June 23:

Senator Wendy Davis during 2013 filibuster. Photograph: Bob Daemmrich/Corbis.

“First, by [the administration] providing a sufficient number of immigration judges and attorneys guardian ad litem for unaccompanied minor children immediately. This will assure a sufficient number of judges and ad litems so that adults and children processed by the border patrol will receive an immediate and fair hearing on their immigration requests and, where appropriate, be repatriated to their native country.”

This is a positive inclusion to the Senate Senator's plan for a humanitarian response to the child and family refugee crisis. It was for some reason left out of her widely publicized letter of the same date to Governor Perry, in which she stated:

“To that end, we should call on the Obama Administration to provide a sufficient number of [immigration] judges so that those processed by the border patrol will receive an immediate hearing on their immigration requests and, where appropriate, be repatriated to their native country.”

This is a positive inclusion to her stance on the issue. Without it, refugee children would struggle to navigate the byzantine immigration legal system and would potentially be swept up into mass deportation. With it, they have a fighting chance to win their refugee or asylum case.

We look forward to hearing the Senator advocate publicly for this important piece of her response.