Beginning in March 2020, the U.S. government ordered the summary expulsion of all undocumented noncitizens arriving at the border, under the false pretense of preventing the spread of COVID-19. This policy, known as “Title 42,” denies migrants the right to seek protection from persecution. But the policy does not apply to other noncitizens or travelers arriving at the border. This Trump-era policy has categorically denied over 800,000 migrants, including tens of thousands of children, access to asylum proceedings as required by U.S. obligations under the Refugee Convention. While the Biden administration has withdrawn the policy for unaccompanied children, it continues to turn away other vulnerable asylum-seekers. These expulsions disproportionately harm Black migrants seeking protection—from countries such as Haiti and Cameroon—and other asylum-seekers who are returned to Mexico and often targeted with racialized violence, abuse, and exploitation. Join us in calling on the U.S. government to end Title 42 once and for all. Click here and retweet a Young Center message about the issue.

No child becomes an adult overnight. And no child should fear going to jail on their 18th birthday. For Sofia, as a transgender girl, the possibility of ending up in an immigration detention facility for adults was especially frightening. With just a few weeks remaining before Sofia would have been transferred to an adult detention facility, her Young Center Child Advocate jumped into action and advocated for her release to a youth transitional housing program. After her release, Sofia gifted her Child Advocate this beautiful painting depicting her dreams.
Note: To protect children’s privacy, we rarely share their real names publicly. We’ve done so here with Sofia’s permission.