Must Read—Sarah Stillman's New Yorker Article "When Deportation is a Death Sentence"

Photo by Gordon Hyde

In a gripping piece for the New Yorker, Sarah Stillman investigates how the U.S. is deporting migrants who are fleeing danger and seeking asylum, what happens to them when they are forced to leave, and how people are fighting back. They have the right—established by constitutional, federal, and international mandate—to asylum and refuge. So why are they being deported instead? 

Laura was an undocumented single mother from Mexico raising three children in Texas. In 2009, she was pulled over by a police officer and then deported by a border patrol agent. She had a violent ex-boyfriend who had threatened to kill her if she returned to Mexico, but they didn't care. Within a week of being deported, she was murdered by her former partner.

While Stillman's piece focuses on adult deportees, we know the situation can be even worse for unaccompanied children, those the Young Center serves every day. We fight for these kids because they all deserve a fair chance in court, assurance they will be safe if repatriated, and in the big picture, a more just and humane system that prioritizes their best interests, safety, and rights.