FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Washington, D.C., November 18, 2020—Today, a federal district judge granted a preliminary injunction that prohibits DHS from turning away unaccompanied immigrant children at the border under the pretext of COVID-19.

“For eight months, this administration has illegally turned away children without asking them a single question about whether they will be safe, where their parents are, whether they have anyone to return to. It has held children in hotel rooms with ICE officials and contractors but without child welfare oversight before deporting them to the same dangers they fled. It has [illegally] expelled Central American children to Mexico where they have no family. It has endangered the lives of children who are asking us for protection,” Young Center Policy Director Jennifer Nagda said. “The court’s decision today is a resounding victory for immigrant children and a relief to those of us who fight for their rights and safety.”

In March, the government announced a new policy requiring the summary expulsion of migrants, including unaccompanied children, at the U.S. borders under a public health provision of Title 42 of the U.S. Code. Since then, DHS has unlawfully turned away more than 13,000 unaccompanied children who sought protection at the border alone. Under the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008, unaccompanied immigrant children at U.S. borders must be taken into government custody and provided the opportunity to seek legal relief and reunification with family members and relatives in the United States.

“We are proud that the Young Center was part of the effort to challenge this unlawful practice. Over the last eight months we’ve worked with dozens of children who were turned away at the border and who faced return to the very traffickers and persecutors they had the courage to flee. In each case we fought for them to be able to pursue protection,” Young Center Executive Director Maria Woltjen said. “Today’s decision is a step in the right direction of undoing the immense harm this administration has inflicted on children.”

In its decision, the federal court denied the government’s request that the court stay the preliminary injunction while the government appeals the court’s ruling. This means that the court’s preliminary injunction is immediately in effect.

“We do expect the administration to appeal and to attempt to continue ‘expelling’ children, but we stand ready to continue fighting for children’s rights and to seek the end of the policy as it is applied to all migrants seeking protection at our borders,” Woltjen added.

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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.