Children who are seeking protection at our border have a right to be seen and treated as children. That means they should not be deported to danger, or hidden in hotels with ICE agents and contractors, or deprived of the chance to tell their stories and find safety. Until that happens, we will keep fighting. We just filed a declaration in a legal challenge to DHS’s unlawful policy of hiding children at the border—often in hotels—before they are summarily expelled. The declaration we filed in support of the motion explains the protections that exist for children to show that what is happening now violates federal law and directly undermines children’s safety. And that DHS’s policy has nothing to do with COVID or protecting public health. Our declaration was based on our experiences fighting for children just now arriving at the border and for children chaotically pulled from shelters as part of DHS’s rush to deport children. Click here to read more about the litigation.
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Please join us for a webinar about safe repatriation on Tuesday, August 25th at 1:00 PM ET. As you know, our team fights for separated and unaccompanied immigrant children and much of our work centers on their release from custody and reunification with family. In some cases, our international home studies are used in our advocacy to show that it would be dangerous for a child to return. Other times, the children we serve want to return to their home countries, often to reunite with family members, and our goal is to ensure that they can do so safely. In all circumstances, planning for a child’s safe return is increasingly complex today due to COVID-19 and the government’s rush to deport children as quickly as possible. At this webinar, front-line advocates from the Young Center and our partner organization Justice in Motion will discuss how we’ve changed our work to facilitate children’s safe return during a global pandemic and why it is more important than ever that children's best interests are considered in every decision.
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To fight the administration's most recent proposed rule attacking asylum, we asked you all to submit public comments to the government by August 10. Young Center Ambassadors were key in sounding the alarm and helped our supporters submit nearly 50 unique comments! We're so thankful to them. Click here to learn more about what Young Center Ambassadors do.
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The Young Center works with the most vulnerable unaccompanied and separated immigrant children in federal custody so their voices are heard and their best interests are protected. We also advocate for an immigration system that treats children as children.To learn more about our work, visit theyoungcenter.org or follow us on social media. Click here to donate.
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