Friend,
It was a little more than seven years ago that Young Center Child Advocates working with “unaccompanied” immigrant children in federal custody first started to notice a disturbing trend: More and more children arriving in custody who had been separated from a parent at the border. They arrived at the detention facilities confused and distraught, sometimes thinking their parent had abandoned them, always wondering—not knowing—when they would see their mother or father again. It wasn’t long after that the Trump administration announced its hallmark policy of widescale family separation intended as a deterrent to families seeking asylum.
Serving as a Young Center Child Advocate during the family separation crisis of 2017 and 2018 was a defining experience for me. I met with separated children and tracked down their parents in federal custody. I advocated for their first video call after months of separation and pushed for reunification whenever possible. The heartbreak I witnessed left a mark on my heart, which I feel it to this day.
But that shameful period in our history left its strongest mark on the families that lived through the separations. Indeed, “marked” is precisely the word used by Hernan, a father I worked with after he was separated from his 11-year-old son Ernesto. After the Young Center successfully advocated for Hernan’s release from ICE custody and his reunification with Ernesto, Hernan and I continued to keep in touch. All these years later, Hernan still feels the impact of the trauma he survived.
It's hard for me to fathom that we are on a pathway back to immigration policies driven by animosity. But I know my Young Center colleagues and I are clear-eyed about what lies ahead. We are ready to band together with immigrant children and families, and with the broader advocacy community, to challenge the harmful anti-immigrant agenda coming our way. Will you join us?
