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The latest on the Key Bridge collapse, New York puts forth legislation to get clean energy projects on the grid and Wisconsin and other states join a federal summer food program to help feed kids across the country.

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Republicans float conspiracy theories on the collapse of Baltimore's Key Bridge, South Carolina's congressional elections will use a map ruled unconstitutional, and the Senate schedules an impeachment trial for Homeland Secretary Mayorkas.

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Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Syria in Spotlight, but Influx of Kids from Central America Continues

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Thursday, September 17, 2015   

NEW YORK – While the national spotlight is focused on the great needs of Syrian refugees in Europe, unaccompanied children from Central America continue to flow into the U.S., and New York is a prime destination – as detailed at a meeting Wednesday.

Jason Starr, Nassau chapter director of the New York Civil Liberties Union, says the legal story for these children is complicated because immigration proceedings are civil matters, so no lawyer is provided like in criminal proceedings.

He says the New York Civil Liberties Union doesn’t want to see any of these children or their families in deportation proceedings without legal counsel.

"They need representation in immigration court,” he stresses. “They need representation in Family Court. There is an incredible amount of unmet legal need, and there are only a few organizations out here that are providing legal services."

New York, Houston and several counties in California are taking in the majority of unaccompanied minors.

Starr says about 3,500 children came to Long Island between 2012 and 2014, and more are still coming, although the pace of arrivals appears to have slowed.

Starr, who addressed the Health and Welfare Council of Long Island on Wednesday, says many of these children arrive speaking only their native language, and that means they need help from local schools.

"They need, you know, appropriate educational programming that both facilitates language acquisition, but also makes sure that they get the rich content that's necessary to be prepared for work, also be prepared for post-secondary education," he explains.

Starr says New York, California and Texas all have large Central American communities. He points out that most of the arriving children are being placed with family members, or close friends – and that is a prime indicator of success for how well most refugees and immigrants assimilate into the United States.





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