When she arrived at the border, authorities forcibly separated two-year-old Yesenia* from her father. Yesenia was flown across the country and placed in a shelter for children in Chicago. The government claimed that it removed Yesenia from her father’s care because he had a criminal record. But there was no evidence he posed a risk to his daughter; and the very next day, immigration officials released him from detention.

The Young Center was appointed as Yesenia’s Child Advocate a month after she was taken from her father. We immediately visited her and began gathering information about her relationship with her father. We learned that Yesenia and her father had a healthy parent-child bond. Shelter caseworkers would show Yesenia a picture of her father as he spoke to her over the phone. They reported that when Yesenia heard her father’s voice and saw his photo, she’d become happy and excited. We also tracked down information about Yesenia’s father and learned that the charges on his record had nothing to do with his fitness to care for his child. As we suspected, the government did not have cause to separate Yesenia from her father and had caused unnecessary harm to her and her family. Such a separation would never hold water in state court.

With this information in hand, we fought for Yesenia’s immediate release and reunification with her father. Our best interests recommendation argued that for a two-year-old like Yesenia, each day of separation from her father caused harm and sowed the seeds for long-term damage to her healthy development and the sense of safety she will need during her life. In response, government officials waived further inquiry, including a home study that would have significantly prolonged Yesenia’s separation. Thanks to her Child Advocate, Yesenia was reunited with her father.

*Child’s name changed to protect her privacy.