When youths fail to appear, judges can order them deported. Since 2009, the number of such orders has more than doubled to 2,826 so far this fiscal year, according to court records. But the growth has been proportional to the caseload, leaving the no-show rate relatively unchanged at about 30%.

They fail to appear for a variety of reasons, advocates say: Some move; others are confused, struggle to find attorneys or hide out of fear.

“I’m afraid they will deport me,” said Oscar, trembling in his red soccer jersey on the living room couch at his grandmother’s house. “If I go back, they will kill me for sure.”

By “they,” he meant gangs battling in his hometown in El Salvador: MS-13 and 18th Street. One dominated his neighborhood; the other his school.