Today, February 15, 2019, the President declared an utterly unnecessary and anti-child “national emergency” on our southern border. The declaration would take money from other departments, mostly from the Department of Defense’s military construction budget, on top of the almost $1.4 billion Congress authorized to build a border wall.
Read MoreToday the U.S. government will take the unprecedented and unlawful step of turning away asylum-seekers under a policy the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has shamelessly named its “Migrant Protection Protocols.”
Read MoreYesterday, a federal watchdog agency released a report confirming what Young Center Child Advocates have reported for the last 18 months.
Read MoreLast month, the Young Center joined more than 216,000 organizations and individuals to oppose a new government effort to limit children’s access to essential government programs.
Read MoreThe Young Center mourns the death of seven-year-old Jackeline Amei Rosmary Caal Maquin, who came to the U.S. from Guatemala with her father. She died of septic shock, fever and dehydration in the custody of US Customs and Border Patrol. We are heartbroken to know that yet another child died an utterly preventable death in our country.
Read MoreWe are proud and grateful to announce that the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation has awarded $250,000 to the Young Center for Immigrant Children’s Rights to advance our work providing independent Child Advocates to unaccompanied and separated children in federal custody.
Read MoreLate this spring, when the news media began widely reporting that U.S. Border Patrol agents were carrying out an official policy of separating undocumented children from their parents, a public outcry erupted and activists sprang into action. At that moment, Maria Woltjen could be forgiven for thinking, What took you so long?
Read MoreThe Young Center for Immigrant Children’s Rights, Kids in Need of Defense (KIND), and the Women’s Refugee Commission condemn a new plan under consideration to separate families at the border.
Read MoreThe Young Center for Immigrant Children’s Rights, Kids in Need of Defense (KIND), and the Women’s Refugee Commission condemn a new plan under consideration to separate families at the border.
Read MoreTrump Administration Guts Protections for Immigrant Children. Read more here.
Read MoreA full month has passed since the deadline for the administration to reunite the families it separated at the border, but as of late last week, 528 children are still waiting to be reunified with their parents.
Read MoreThroughout the month of July, Young Center attorneys, social workers, and volunteer Child Advocates have helped reunify children with their parents after weeks or months of separation. Like in the case of three-year-old Aron, where our Child Advocate made it possible for the toddler to be reunified with his mother and released from government custody after a four-and-a-half month separation.
Read MoreToday, Young Center Child Advocates in three different cities helped to safely reunify toddlers who were unlawfully taken from their parents by the government. These parent-child reunions were the result of months of fighting for these families, from finding the documents to establish their relationships, to setting up phone and video calls, to finding family or community organizations willing to provide shelter.
Read MoreOn Tuesday, as reported by Crain's New York, Airbnb announced a donation of $10,000 in free housing vouchers to the Young Center in support of our efforts to reunify families. These vouchers will help the Young Center expand our network of Child Advocates beyond its current geographic scope, support staff when working on family reunification cases that require travel, and facilitate key training and strategy sessions dedicated to child and family rights.
Read MoreLate Tuesday evening, a federal judge in California ordered the federal government to reunify the thousands of parents and children forcibly separated by the Trump administration… But we remain deeply concerned about whether the government will consider children's best interests in implementing the order.
Read MoreThe fight is far from over. Watch an update from Executive Director, Maria Woltjen, on the fight to end family separation and protect immigrant children.
Read MoreThe Clooney Foundation for Justice was established to advance justice in courtrooms, classrooms and communities around the world.
Read More1. Learn the Facts About Family Separation
2. Contact Your Elected Officials
3. Volunteer
4. Donate to the Young Center
5. Spread the Word
Today, 540 organizations, hailing from all 50 states, Washington DC and Puerto Rico, called upon DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen to end the practice of separating children from their parents at the U.S. border.
Read MoreWe continue to hear from people who are outraged by the U.S. government's policy to take children away from their mothers and fathers at the border. We've received an outpouring of support and interest, and many have asked, "How can we help?" Here's how you can help right now: Join today's National Day of Action for Children
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