Defenseless Immigrant Children Puzzled by Legal Maze

"More than 8,000 children come to the United States each year without a parent or legal guardian and are put into the custody of the U.S. government," according to Kids in Need of Defense (KIND), a pro-bono network of law firms that represent immigration children. "Numerous others enter alone but live "underground" in secrecy and deprivation in a desperate attempt to evade U.S. authorities."

Angelina Jolie says, "No child should face deportation from the United States without representation."

KIND was established by Microsoft Corporation and actress Angelina Jolie, but organizations that help immigrant children are scarce. Sometimes, defenseless babies are carried into immigration court. Many children are searching for a way out of poverty, while others are looking for mommy or daddy, who left them many years ago to find a better quality of life. Either way, the numbers of illegal children continue to grow and so does the lack of pro-bono lawyers with experience in immigration.

Immigration, on its own, can be tricky for adults. Just imagine how it feels to be a child trapped in the maze of immigration law, especially if you are a child who has been detained.

"Getting a good defense can literally mean the difference between life and death for a child who is fleeing war or is the victim of human trafficking," Wendy Young, director of KIND, said in an interview with CNN. "The impact [of having fewer legal services] would be devastating, because these are children who can't get through legal proceedings alone. It's just not realistic."

Photo Credit: ERproductions Ltd, Getty Images

Young told CNN that almost 50 percent of detained children went before a judge with no lawyer last year. It's becoming increasingly difficult for immigrant children to obtain legal counsel, due to financial cutbacks and lack of knowledge.

Children who are detained by the Federal Office of Refugee Resettlement live a life in limbo. They estimates that 7,211 immigrant children illegally entered the U.S. in 2008.

Photo Credit: Mark Hill, CNN

Take a look inside the life of a child in detainment , a piece CNN did on a 12-year-old girl from Central America named "Marta." Marta came to the U.S. illegally, but her lawyer helped her obtain a U.S. Visa for abused and neglected children. She now lives in a foster home.