Today marks the 100th day of the Biden-Harris administration. During this time, the administration has taken significant steps towards welcoming unaccompanied immigrant children to the United States, but many gaps remain in protecting children’s best interests and safety. In just a few months, the Young Center's policy team has had more than two dozen meetings with White House officials, and more than a dozen additional meetings with newly appointed senior federal agency staff. They are asking for our ideas, and in some instances, adopting and implementing them. We are heartened that many of these new officials bring expertise in working with children or people seeking protection and we look forward to working with them for positive change. Read our latest blog commenting on the changes we've seen under the new administration and the issues we are prioritizing going forward.
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Young Center Board Member Elvis Garcia Callejas recently appeared on Newsy to talk about his experiences as an unaccompanied immigrant child and why so many children make dangerous trips to seek protection in the United States. Today, in addition to serving on our board, Elvis is an advocate for immigrant children, regularly speaking to national audiences about the experiences of children and others fleeing violence and persecution. Elvis is also the founder of La Union F.C., a free soccer program in Manhattan that serves more than 100 refugees, unaccompanied children, and children of immigrants. We are so proud to share that Elvis will be appearing at Spring Soirée on Thursday, May 13. Don't miss the chance to hear from Elvis in two weeks from today.
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As part of our Spring Soirée, we are launching an online auction with proceeds supporting our work on Monday at 12:00pm ET. Mark your calendars to bid on items including exclusive, virtual conversations with award-winning authors Isabel Allende and Maaza Mengiste, a private virtual dance class with Gaby Diaz, Season 12 Winner of So You Think You Can Dance, invaluable art, guitars from FENDER, and more.
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Since January 2021, we've trained 118 new volunteer Child Advocates in Washington, D.C., New York, Houston, Harlingen, Chicago, and San Antonio. Young Center volunteer Child Advocates meet with children in government custody every week (virtually, for now) to learn their stories and accompany them through government custody and their immigration proceedings. We welcome volunteers from all cultures, professions, races, ethnicities, and social backgrounds. Applicants must be at least 21 years old. We have a particular need for bilingual volunteers who speak Spanish, French, Romanian, Portuguese, Fulani, Lingala, Creole, and Indigenous languages in Central America.
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Do you want to join the fight for immigrant children's rights? We're hiring team members in Chicago, Phoenix, Harlingen, New York, Houston, and Washington, D.C.
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"As an immigrant who moved the United States at the age of 14 without my immediate family, I know some of the challenges immigrants face, especially with being away from family. I signed up as a volunteer Child Advocate because I felt I could relate to some of these challenges and wanted to be helpful to our immigrant children in any way I could."
-Liuska Rincon, Young Center-LA Volunteer Child Advocate
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