Navigating Legal Precarity: Legal Violence and the Transition to Adulthood for Unaccompanied Immigrant Youth

Background and Problem
Unaccompanied immigrant transitional-age youth (TAY; ages 18–24) navigate the transition to adulthood within an increasingly restrictive U.S. immigration context characterized by heightened enforcement, limited access to legal relief, and systemic exclusion from institutions. Prior research has examined mental health and integration among unaccompanied minors, limited scholarship centers on how legal precarity shapes developmental transitions into adulthood. Guided by the concept of legal violence and informed by Life Course Theory, this study examines how immigration policies and bureaucratic systems structure youths’ trajectories during a critical developmental period. It situates legal status as a key axis shaping access to opportunity, stability, and long-term mobility. The study is guided by the following questions: (1) How do unaccompanied immigrant TAY navigate legal precarity during the transition to adulthood? (2) How do they navigate structural and bureaucratic barriers related to legal status; and (3) What strategies do they use to cope with or adapt to these constraints?

Methods
This qualitative, phenomenological study examined how youth navigated legal precarity as they transitioned from childhood protections to undocumented adulthood. Participants were recruited across California using purposive and snowball sampling through community-based organizations, schools, and professional networks. Semi-structured interviews and focus groups were conducted via Zoom and in person with (n = 20) unaccompanied immigrant TAY youth, (n = 20) public child welfare workers, and (n = 37) social service providers. Interview guides included questions focused on how legal stressors such as documentation barriers, shifting policy environments, and immigration enforcement shaped youths’ resettlement experiences in the United States, including their access to education, employment, and social services. Interviews were analyzed using thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006) to identify patterns across lived experiences and service system responses.

Findings
Data analysis revealed three interrelated themes. First, youth experienced legal liminality and constrained mobility, describing a persistent state of “legal limbo” that delayed or foreclosed key developmental milestones such as securing employment, obtaining identification, pursuing higher education, and accessing stable housing. Second, participants encountered bureaucratic and legal complications that intensified exclusion. Youth described recursive “catch-22” barriers such as needing identification to obtain documentation while lacking the documents required to secure it, as well as compressed legal timelines, lack of guardianship for relief processes (e.g., Special Immigrant Juvenile Status), and limited access to competent legal counsel. Third, legal advocacy emerged as a critical stabilizing resource. Access to attorneys, school-based advocates, and social workers facilitated navigation of complex systems, increased the likelihood of securing legal relief, and supported access to education, housing, and health services. In contrast, lack of representation exacerbated vulnerability, prolonged legal insecurity, and limited access to critical supports.

Implications for Policy and Practice
Findings highlight the need to expand access to legal representation and strengthen pathways to immigration relief through early identification, screening, and timely intervention. A Systems of Care approach is essential to integrating legal services across child welfare, education, and community settings. Embedding legal advocacy within multidisciplinary teams and reducing bureaucratic barriers are critical to mitigating legal precarity and supporting equitable transitions to adulthood for unaccompanied immigrant TAY.