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Federal immigration officials and courts have been overwhelmed in recent months with the influx of more than 57,000 unaccompanied youth who crossed the border this fiscal year, as well as others who crossed with parents, all mostly from Central America.
By law, Central American youths are entitled to court hearings before they can be deported, but not to lawyers. About half of those who arrive unaccompanied, like Oscar, don't have attorneys, according to court records analyzed by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse at Syracuse University.
Of the unaccompanied children who find attorneys, 47% have been allowed to stay legally, compared with 10% of those without attorneys, according to the study.
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