Dear Friend,
In 2017, the Young Center began working with first of what would become many hundreds of immigrant children separated from their parents at our border. Our staff and volunteers met with children in shelters, witnessed their confusion, anger and sadness, and moved mountains to locate their parents and help the families reunify, when the government could not or would not.
More than five years later, these families have yet to experience anything close to justice.
The federal government just reached a settlement that will prohibit border officials from separating most migrant parents from their children at the border for the next eight years. It will also allow many separated families to finally seek asylum in the U.S. But that agreement falls far short of the “justice” my Young Center colleague argued for in the New York Times. Every separated family should have the right to remain permanently in the U.S. and to receive meaningful services that can help repair the lasting trauma of family separation. And the officials who perpetrated this violence should be held accountable.
Family separation is just one of many policy battles our team fights each day. As I write, the Biden Administration and Congress continue to use the lives of immigrant families and the right to seek asylum as political bargaining chips.
We may feel powerless to prevent injustice. But now is the time to act with courage. In the New Year, it will be up to us to demand protection for all children and families who seek safety at our border. To assist families who were torn apart by the last administration to find support and stability in our communities. To ensure federal agencies consider the best interests of children in every decision.
Your gift is essential for supporting this ongoing advocacy work. Donate today to help us hold the government accountable for repairing past harms and preventing future ones.
