Last Friday, Young Center Executive Director Gladis Molina Alt spoke on a press conference where participants called for an immediate end to Title 42, which two administrations have misused to turn away more than 1.7 million asylum-seekers. Gladis highlighted her recent trip to the border and her conversations with families separated by the policy. She was joined by Representative Ayanna Pressley and Representative Joaquin Castro and leaders from Immigration Hub, Physicians for Human Rights, and the Center for Law and Social Policy. Click here to listen to the session and take action. 

The press conference was just the latest in our fight to end Title 42. Earlier this month, we joined a coalition of children’s rights advocates in calling for the end of Title 42 and we released a statement on how Title 42 is contributing to family separation.

In recent months, we have witnessed an outbreak of state laws and policies that attempt to strip protections from immigrant children. In February, Florida’s child welfare agency confirmed that it will not issue or renew licenses for shelters or providers in Florida that care for unaccompanied immigrant children. In September 2021, Texas stripped licenses from children’s facilities. The effort has left immigrant children in federal custody in Texas without a key oversight mechanism for reporting and investigating conditions in facilities. Most recently officials in Tennessee introduced a discriminatory bill that would separate and criminalize immigrant families. Officials from New York, Pennsylvania, and Tennessee have also spread harmful misinformation about immigrant children who are reuniting with their families.

Earlier this month, the Young Center led an initiative—joined by more than 40 organizations who work on behalf of children—to demand an end to these attacks and to correct dangerous misinformation campaigns about migrant children and their families at the border and within the United States. Click here to read our joint statement letting public officials know we won't be silent in the face of these attacks. 

After serving as a pro bono immigration services provider, Aparna Puri was moved by the stories, tenacity, and resilience of undocumented Americans and asylum-seekers. When the opportunity presented itself to join the Young Center's Board of Directors, she signed up. Learn more about Aparna's work and her commitment to being part of the effort to welcome unaccompanied children here. 

In early March, the Biden administration announced a long-awaited regulation and new policy that will provide clarity and certainty to children who have proven that they were abused, abandoned, or neglected and who cannot safely return to a parent. These children are recipients of the Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS); despite this protection, they often spend years in limbo, waiting for the opportunity to become lawful permanent residents due to an administrative backlog over which they have no control. The changes announced this month will provide young people with stability, including the ability to support themselves and contribute to their communities and our collective well-being.