Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS)
Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS) is a pathway to become a Lawful Permanent Resident that is available to minor children who are presently in the United States, who are under the age of 18, who are unmarried, and who have been abandoned, abused, or neglected by a parent or both parents.
Requirements
- You must be present in the United States both when you apply and when the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) makes its decision.
- You must be unmarried—due to annulment, death, divorce or not having been married—at the time you apply.
- You need to have a valid determination by a juvenile court that you are dependent on the court, or in custody of a state agency or individual appointed by the court.
- You cannot be reunified with one or both of your parents due to abuse abandonment or neglect; and it is not in your best interest to return to your country.
- You’re seeking relief due to abuse, abandonment, or neglect—not for the purpose of immigration.
- If you are in custody, you must have written consent from the Department of Health and Human Services or the Office of Refugee Resettlement.
Prosecutorial Discretion
Prosecutorial discretion refers to the fact that under American law, government prosecuting attorneys have nearly absolute powers. A prosecuting attorney has power on various matters including those relating to choosing whether or not to bring criminal charges, deciding the nature of charges, plea bargaining and sentence recommendation. This discretion of the prosecuting attorney is called prosecutorial discretion.
When Prosecutors Use Their Discretion
Prosecutors may have a variety of reasons for using prosecutorial discretion. One reason that a prosecutor may decide not to file charges against a defendant is lack of evidence. A prosecutor has the burden to prove beyond a reasonable doubt any charges they file against a defendant, so if the evidence isn’t there or is not convincing, they may decide against filing the charges.
Prosecutorial discretion also allows prosecutors not to file charges, to drop charges or to offer a plea deal when the circumstances surrounding the “crime” warrant it. For example, if the facts and evidence indicate that a killing was actually in self-defense (which can be a close call in some cases), the prosecutor may reduce the charges from murder to manslaughter, or even drop the charges entirely.
Advantages of Prosecutorial Discretion
Probably one of the biggest advantages of allowing prosecutorial discretion is that it promotes judicial economy. There’s only so much time available on a court’s calendar, so a prosecutor’s ability to decide when to charge a defendant as well as their ability to plea bargain with a defendant allows prosecutors to ease the burden not only on themselves but also on courts and judges.
Prosecutorial discretion also allows prosecutors to secure cooperation of witness defendants by allowing them to offer reduced sentences or charges in exchange for testimony against another defendant. For example, a prosecutor may offer a low-level drug dealer probation in exchange for testifying against a serious drug trafficker.
Disadvantages of Prosecutorial Discretion
Probably the biggest downside of prosecutorial discretion is that it creates the potential for prosecutorial misconduct that can be seen in cases of selective prosecution. Because of the inherent subjectivity of a prosecutor’s discretion, their personal beliefs and biases – whether conscious or unconscious – can creep into their decisions. This can lead to prosecutors filing charges based on a defendant’s race or social status.
Selective prosecution isn’t just a societal problem, it’s actually a violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. In fact, a defendant can use it as a defense, although it can be difficult to prove. In order to succeed, the defendant must prove that the prosecutor’s policy:
- Was motivated by a discriminatory purpose; and
- Had a discriminatory effect.
In proving a discriminatory effect, the defendant would need to show that similarly situated individuals of a different race, class, etc. weren’t prosecuted for the same or similar crime. Given that most cases have a unique set of facts, there are any number of ways that a prosecutor could argue that certain facts warranted prosecution while others did not.