Can minors represent themselves in Federal immigration court?

Young people wait in line to enter the office of The Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles (CHIRLA) on August 15, 2012 in Los Angeles, California, on the first day of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. US authorities began taking applications for deferred deportations from undocumented immigrants brought here as children, an initiative that could benefit up to 1.7 million people, as long lines of applicants, many who have long feared separation from their families and deportation from the country they've always considered home, formed outside consulates, advocacy offices and law firms.

Attorneys are in short supply...so should minors seeking asylum in the U.S. represent themselves in court? That's what one judge is saying.

It's the headline that's been blowing up on the Internet: "This judge says toddlers can defend themselves in immigration court."

The source of that statement, a Federal Assistant Chief Immigration judge named Jack Weil.

His incendiary remarks came about last fall as part of a deposition in a court case brought by advocates seeking government-appointed attorneys for young immigrants.

Needless to say, it hasn't gone over well with many.

Kevin Johnson, Dean of the UC Davis school of law, joined the show for more.

Attorneys are in short supply...so should minors seeking asylum in the U.S. represent themselves in court? That's what one judge is saying.

To hear the full segment, click the blue play button above.