FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Washington, D.C., October 28, 2020—Today, the Young Center for Immigrant Children’s Rights released “Reimagining Children’s Immigration Proceedings: A Roadmap for an Entirely New System Centered around Children.” With the support of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the report sets out to reimagine the ways in which the federal government welcomes children at the border and adjudicates their requests to remain permanently in the United States.

“In the absence of a ‘best interests’ mandate for all immigrant children, immigration authorities have been able to separate children from parents, and even turn children away at the border without asking a single question about where they will go or whether they will be safe,” said Young Center Executive Director Maria Woltjen. “It is not enough to reform a broken system. We must imagine and invest in an entirely new system that sees immigrant children as children.”

Reimagining is based in part on a symposium in which the Young Center brought together experts in child welfare, juvenile justice, child development, immigration law, and international migration. The goal was to learn lessons from efforts to develop and reform other systems where children’s rights are at stake, and propose a model tailored to children’s needs, capacities, and experiences. 

With bold recommendations that include extending childhood to the age of 21, ending adversarial court hearings for all children, and prohibiting the deportation of children until the government has proved they will be safe, the Reimagining report focuses both on process and substantive protections. Other recommendations include: ending the separation of children from trusted adult caregivers such as grandparents, adult siblings, aunts and uncles; providing attorneys to all children, at government expense if needed; creating a dedicated corps of government judges and attorneys assigned to children’s cases; commencing immigration proceedings only after children are living with family or placed in a family-like setting; and requiring that decisions be made in a reasonable timeframe.

“The past few years have crystalized the many ways in which our immigration system harms children. Reimagining presents a strong argument in favor of an overhaul of immigration proceedings for all migrant children, and shows how this systemic change is possible,” said Jennifer Nagda of the Young Center. “We hope this report will be the first step in a collaborative process with other advocates, policy-makers, Members of Congress, and the federal government to reimagine how we welcome and evaluate children’s protection claims and begin the work of implementation.”

On Wednesday, October 28, at 7:00pm ET/4:00pm PT, the Young Center will host an online conversation about the Reimagining report and initiative. Registration for the event, which will feature Woltjen, Nagda, Young Center Child Advocate Program Director Gladis Molina Alt, and Advocate for Youth Elvis Garcia Callejas, is available here.

----------
The Young Center for Immigrant Children’s Rights is a non-profit organization that protects and advances the rights and best interests of immigrant children and advocates for an immigration system that treats children as children first. For press inquiries, please contact Noorjahan Akbar at media@theyoungcenter.org or 202-725-7184.