FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

Friday, December 8, 2023 

Media Contact: media@theyoungcenter.org 

Washington D.C.— As the White House continues negotiations with the Senate on a supplemental funding bill, reports have surfaced that President Biden is considering devastating tradeoffs that would severely restrict children and families' access to asylum in exchange for more military funding for Ukraine and Israel. The policies reported to be on the table include expanding restrictions on seeking asylum and returning to Trump-era expedited removal in our communities, allowing DHS to round people up for deportation nationwide. Such policies put families in a state of constant fear, living with the threat of a family member being deported. Children in these families face enormous stress, threatening their well-being and healthy development. 

For nearly 20 years, the Young Center for Immigrant Children’s Rights has been standing up for immigrant children, ensuring their safety and well-being are centered in any decisions made about them. We have heard countless stories of children fleeing violence and exploitation, who have been granted a chance to grow up in safety in the United States. We cannot turn our backs on these children and their families for political expediency. 

Mary Miller Flowers, Director of Policy and Legislative Affairs at the Young Center for Immigrant Children’s Rights, said: 

"Being ‘open to compromise’ cannot be confused with advancing polices which endanger the lives of children and their families. There is no justification for compromising people’s right to safety, especially children’s. Children are already facing near impossible standards to seek asylum in the U.S.; standards that have forced many to separate from their families, wait for weeks or months at a time at the border, and at times, return to danger. The policy changes the Biden administration is proposing would put Black, Brown, and Indigenous immigrants at the border and across the United States in danger. It would endanger children, survivors of domestic violence, and trafficking, and might even prohibit children from seeking protection at our borders altogether. To ignore these facts in pursuit of military funding is a betrayal of our values and common sense. We urge the White House to reconsider proposals that trade the rights and dignity of immigrant children and their communities for political gains.” 

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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