FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

Washington, D.C., February 14, 2022—Last week, Florida’s child welfare agency confirmed that it will no longer take equal measures to protect children in government custody, announcing that it will not issue or renew licenses for shelters or providers in Florida that care for unaccompanied immigrant children. This latest action comes at the heels of a prolonged effort by officials in Florida to deny protection, safety, and dignity to all children.  

During a roundtable earlier this week, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis lashed out at unaccompanied immigrant children, calling them “illegal,” discrediting their valid claims for protection, and attempting, without evidence, to tie them to human and drug trafficking. This outburst followed months of maneuvers against unaccompanied children—children recognized under law as particularly vulnerable and who have the right to request protection from repatriation to danger. Last year, the Florida governor announced his intention to strip licenses from shelters housing immigrant children. In January, Florida officials submitted a letter to the federal government calling these children “gang members.”  

The Young Center for Immigrant Children’s Rights, a human rights organization that has worked with unaccompanied children from around the world for 19 years, strongly decries both these policies and the statements attacking children and urges all elected officials to refrain from using children as political pawns. 

“The idea that children arriving in Florida (or anywhere), to seek refuge in government shelters or to reunite with their families, are doing anything illegal is patently false,” said Young Center Executive Director Gladis Molina Alt. “Every child who arrives at our border has the legal right to ask for protection. They are held in government facilities and their families are vetted before they can be reunited. Once released, children face a difficult battle in immigration court to prove their right to remain in the United States, without being guaranteed an attorney or Child Advocate. The deck is completely stacked against them—except for their right to be with family during this difficult time. That’s the truth that we’re not hearing from elected officials.” 

Molina Alt continued, “This barrage of anti-child, anti-immigrant fearmongering serves no one. It doesn’t serve our communities or strengthen our economy. It instills unnecessary fear in our neighborhoods, prevents children from reuniting with their families, and undermines the legal process for children to seek safety in the United States.” 

Florida is not the only state taking measures to decrease protections for unaccompanied children. On September 1, 2021, shelters for children in Texas were stripped of state licenses under an order issued by Governor Greg Abbott that targets only facilities for migrant children. Although Texas authorities issued a rule that allowed these facilities to operate temporarily without licenses, without state oversight, inspection and guidelines, there is little guarantee that the facilities will be safe. Politicians in New York, Pennsylvania, and Tennessee have jumped on the bandwagon of inaccuracies about children reunified with families in their respective states.  

“The falsehoods about unknown children being ‘dropped off’ in local neighborhoods in the ‘middle of the night’ is not just harmful fearmongering, it’s a tactic that fuels policies and agendas in favor of family separation. We can and must be better than this.” Molina Alt 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.