Update from Young Center Executive Director Gladis Molina Alt

Dear Young Center Supporter:

As we head into a new Fiscal Year, I am approaching my first “One Hundred Days” as Executive Director of the Young Center. I want to take this opportunity to update you on how your support has empowered us to respond to the recent arrival of Afghan refugees and the ongoing struggle for Haitian refugees to access the U.S. asylum process at the southern border; to advocate at the United Nations to investigate family separation as a violation of human rights; and to launch a new program area to assist and consult on more cases involving immigrant children.

Vulnerable Afghan Children Entering US Custody Alone

Last month, we saw thousands of families from Afghanistan begin resettling in the United States. Among those arriving at our airports are unaccompanied children and those who've been separated from their families during the journey.

Our programs have already received dozens of referrals for unaccompanied Afghan children. Over 100 unaccompanied Afghan children have arrived in Chicago shelters in addition to children in facilities in and around Michigan, New York, and Washington, D.C. Our offices in these locations have already begun taking case appointments.  Many of the children are in crisis—they just left their homes, families, and communities—and many did not know where they were going before they stepped onto a plane.

Young Center supporters on social media helped us recruit new volunteers who speak the local languages of Afghanistan, and now our appointed Child Advocates are focused on helping understand each child’s wishes—and ensuring government agencies listen.

Our Policy team is urging government officials, including Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and his staff, to prioritize reuniting children with their families, even if that means reunification with parents and family members evacuated to other countries.

We are also distributing a bilingual practice advisory to networks of Afghan diaspora and refugee organizations that explains how they can support Afghan children and the process children undergo to seek release from custody (available in English and Farsi).

Now is the time for us to #WelcomeWithDignity not only families and children from Afghanistan but all those seeking protection and safety at our borders.

Title 42 & Haitian Asylum-Seekers at the Border

A presidential assassination, continuing food insecurity, and a devastating earthquake have forced thousands of Haitians to leave their communities in search of safety. But when they arrive at the U.S.-Mexico border they face violence, threats, indignity, and deportation to the same dangers that forced them to flee. This cannot continue. In September, I released a statement calling on the Biden-Harris administration to halt all deportations to Haiti and to ensure that all children, adults, and families seeking safety in the United States are welcomed by the humanitarian spirit of our asylum law while they pursue their legal cases for protection.

Shining a Global Spotlight on Family Separation & Accountability: A Report to the United Nations

In 2018, your support allowed us to swiftly expand our Child Advocate program to serve hundreds of immigrant children brutally separated from their parents at the border. Today, we continue to demand accountability for family separation on the global stage. The Young Center for Immigrant Children’s Rights, in collaboration with the Center for the Human Rights of Children at Loyola University Chicago School of Law and other partner organizations, submitted a report to the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.

The report calls upon the UN to investigate the human rights violations resulting from the “Zero Tolerance” policy of the previous administration and assess the trauma and harm to children caused by parent-child separation, recommending the UN condemn the policy as a form of torture. We urge the Special Rapporteur to recommend that restorative services be provided by the U.S. government to all families impacted by the “Zero Tolerance” policy and to call upon the U.S. government to recommit to its international obligations to protect the rights of migrant children.

Expanding Our Programs to Serve More Immigrant and Asylum-Seeking Children

With the support of donors and institutional funders, the Young Center will be expanding our programs in 2021 to serve children caught in the gaps between the immigration, domestic welfare, and juvenile justice systems. We look forward to sharing additional details about this new program in a future update!

Our ability to tackle these current challenges while planning for future expansion of programs is made possible by your contributions. I am so grateful for our community of support. In the last few months, I have enjoyed meeting dozens of our supporters, and I look forward to meeting many more of you in the near future.

With gratitude,

Gladis Molina Alt
Executive Director