WITH GRATITUDE

April is National Volunteer Appreciation Month—a month dedicated to recognizing the importance of volunteering and the significant contributions our volunteers make by generously donating their time and talents to fighting for the rights of unaccompanied immigrant children. 

In honor of our wonderful volunteers, we'll be uplifting their impact and voices on our social media platforms and linking them up to events and opportunities to connect across our eight office locations.   If you're interested in volunteering, we have trainings coming up in Washington D.C., San Antonio, and a virtual National training in June. Stay tuned via our Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn for upcoming dates. If you're interested, you can also send in your information via our website.

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT

Launched in honor of the Young Center’s former Associate Director and child’s rights advocate Elizabeth Frankel,  the Elizabeth Frankel Fellowship program supports law students as they learn to advocate effectively for immigrant children and families. 

This year we are happy to welcome This year we are happy to welcome José Herrera (University of Kentucky), Cristina Gamundi Garcia (University of Washington), and Samantha Martinez (St. Mary’s University). For 10 weeks, José, Cristina, and Samantha will train to zealously advocate for children, and carry on Liz’s vision of honoring the child’s wishes through careful, strategic advocacy. We are excited to have them on-board!

POLICY CORNER

On Tuesday, April 11th, the Young Center for Immigrant Children’s Rights, Vera Institute of Justice, and Acacia Center for Justice will convene key California stakeholders and advocates online to discuss the post-release needs and best practices for working with unaccompanied youth with mental health disabilities and trauma-related care needs in California. If you are interested in participating, sign up today!

We are incredibly thankful to everyone who raised their voices in solidarity with asylum seekers and against punitive border enforcement policies. Along with the work done with our partners from the Welcome With Dignity campaign, we were able to submit 32,814 public comments to the Biden administration that it rescind all plans to move forward with an asylum ban that would harm immigrant families and children fleeing from harm.  

Government officials are now  required to review and respond to comments in writing in the Federal Register. Although we haven’t won this battle, we have shown that thousands of Americans stand with immigrant children and their families. You can read the Young Center's public comment here. Meanwhile, our fight continues.