Clock Is Running Out for Thousands of Immigrant Children

Elder Chavez arrived in the United States alone at 14, fleeing Honduras after his parents abandoned him. He received Special Immigrant Juvenile status – a legal protection designed for children who have been abused, neglected, or abandoned. Elder built his life here. Earlier this year, a traffic stop sent him to a detention center in Louisiana, where an immigration officer looked at his legal paperwork and said: "Your papers are of no use to me." Elder is now on a path to deportation.