FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 
Wednesday, July 13, 2022 
Media Contact: media@theyoungcenter.org  

Washington D.C.— Today, a group of 14 members of Congress, including Senators Jeff Merkley, Dick Durbin, Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders, Patty Murray, and Kirsten Gillibrand, introduced the Children’s Safe Welcome Act, a landmark bill that would ensure the federal government prioritizes the safety and well-being of each child navigating our country’s immigration system. The Children’s Safe Welcome Act –which is supported by 40 organizations across the country– aims to keep families together, prioritizes small shelters and family-based placements for children arriving to the U.S. alone, strengthens protections for children with disabilities, and advocates for children to be reunified with family as quickly as possible to minimize their time spent in government custody. 

Additional congressional sponsors of the bill include Senators Schatz, Markey, Hirono, Feinstein, Wyden, Rosen, Casey and Representative Bass. 

Gladis Molina Alt, Executive Director of the Young Center for Immigrant Children’s Rights, said: 

“Today’s introduction of the Children’s Safe Welcome Act signals a commitment by Congress to prioritize the best interests of all children in this country, regardless of their immigration status. No child should ever be criminalized for seeking a better life. Yet, repeatedly, children seeking refuge in the U.S. are met by armed enforcement agents at the border, placed in unregulated Customs and Border Protection facilities, and face prolonged periods in detention separated from their family and loved ones.  

For decades, Young Center advocates and our fierce partners at the National Center for Youth Law and the National Immigrant Justice Center, have been fighting to change this reality and reimagine an immigration system that honors children’s fundamental right to family unity and prioritizes their best interests, rights, and wishes. Congress has a critical opportunity to ensure the U.S. lives up to its values and treats all children with the care and dignity they deserve. It's time they take meaningful action to protect the lives of all children and pass the Children’s Safe Welcome Act now.” 

Mary Miller Flowers, Senior Policy Analyst for Child Protection at the Young Center for Immigrant Children’s Rights, said: 

"At its core, the Children’s Safe Welcome Act is about protecting children. Children seeking safety in the U.S. often endure further harm as a result of our country’s immigration system, which too often separates families and detains them in restrictive facilities that lack the proper care and access to resources they need. This bill would change that.  

The Children’s Safe Welcome Act is centered in evidence-based practices in the fields of child health, welfare and development to ensure children’s unique needs and capabilities are respected during any period they’re in federal custody. We know that children thrive when they are cared for by loved ones and are safest when their health is prioritized. This bill would transform the standard for how children are treated when navigating our country’s immigration system by prioritizing family unity, and in cases where a child arrived alone to the U.S., ensuring their prompt reunification with family whenever possible.” 

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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 Anabel Mendoza at media@theyoungcenter.org