Despite continued bad news on the immigration front, we are so proud to share that this week—thanks to the hard work of our staff and your support—we won the release of five children from government custody in New York and made it possible for them to be safely reunified with their families.
Read MoreEarly this morning, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials deported a 16-year-old girl known as AMPV to Honduras, where she had fled physical violence, sexual violence, and death threats before seeking protection at the United States border
Read MoreTonight, DHS will try to deport a 16-year-old survivor of violence known as AMPV back to her home country. They will pick her up from a government shelter after midnight, and put her on an early morning flight. Please contact the DHS Field Office in Harlingen tonight and demand that ICE stop the deportation and allow the child’s case to proceed in court.
Read MoreWe are gravely concerned that the CDC rule as written and as already applied will jeopardize the safety and well-being of immigrant children by returning them to danger, in violation of U.S. law and basic principles of child welfare and human decency. We therefore urge CDC to rescind the rule and ensure that any future regulation of a similar nature include a clear exception for unaccompanied children to any suspension of entry to the U.S. related to communicable diseases.
Read MoreYoung Center staff continue to support and fight for unaccompanied and separated children in government custody. Every one of our eight offices is up and running remotely with staff and volunteers meeting with children virtually—by Zoom and phone. It's your generous support that allows us to continue this work and fight for the rights of children.
Read MoreYoung Center staff hosted a webinar about new policies impacting immigrant children, how our work has changed under COVID-19, and how we are working with families trapped in Mexico under the administration's Remain in Mexico program. In case you missed the webinar, you can watch it here.
Read MoreYoung Center staff have been putting together some resources for our volunteers and our community at large to help us cope in these uncertain times. We hope they are helpful.
Read MoreDespite our relentless advocacy, the Department of Justice has refused to halt hearings and continues to endanger lives. Please join us in demanding an immediate halt to all immigration courts.
Read MoreWe join our allies in immigrant and children's rights organizations in calling for an immediate halt to all immigration court proceedings, including and especially those impacting children, unless there is an urgent need for the hearing.
Read More“Immigration court hearings are incredibly challenging for children in government custody, many of whom don’t have attorneys or Child Advocates. They become unreasonably and unacceptably unfair when they take place by video. We join other children’s rights organizations and allies in demanding an immediate end to this practice.”
Read MoreSeeking asylum is a right. People seeking safety at our border should be allowed into the country to pursue their case for protection. Today was an important step in that direction and toward restoring a degree of humanity and legality to our immigration system.
Read MoreToday the Trump administration's expansion of the travel ban, also known as the Muslim ban, goes into effect. The policy adds immigration and travel restrictions for people from six more countries including Nigeria, Sudan, Tanzania, Eritrea, Kyrgyzstan and Myanmar.
Read MoreIn these video hearings, at the “tent courts” at the border and around the country, children see the judge on a TV screen and won’t have a chance to be in the same room as the judge evaluating their claim. These hearings rob everyone of due process, and they rob children of the chance to be seen as children.
Read MoreDrawing and poetry by David, a teenager from Central America who hopes to be released from government custody and reunited with his family, while he asks our courts for protection from life-threatening violence in his home country. David Shared that his drawing inspired his “rhyme” and that he is excited for people to see and experience them together.
Read MoreYoung Center Board member Frances de Pontes Peebles writes about what she witnessed when she visited immigration court in the after-math of the "zero-tolerance" policy that led to the forced separation of thousands of families.
Read MoreLast week, a team of four Young Center staff spent three days in the refugee community of 2,000+ people currently trapped in Matamoros, Mexico. We were shocked by the living conditions asylum-seekers are forced to tolerate due to this administration’s policies, including the Remain in Mexico Program.
Read More“We’re honored to have supported Ariel and helped reunify him with his loving father. But our work to end unlawful and unnecessary family separation continues. We see more cases of unjustified family separation every week,” Young Center-New York’s Managing Attorney Priscilla Monico Marín said about continued family separation.
Read MoreSelf-care is how we preserve and strengthen ourselves. As advocates, self-care is an investment in our collective vision of a more just, humane world. Here are some self-care tips for the holidays from Young Center social workers Tami Benchoam Rogers and Hannah Biskind.
Read MoreYoung Center Child Advocates have worked with hundreds of separated children. On average, they are younger than 7 years old. In nearly every case, the reason for the separation had nothing to do with the child’s safety and ultimately harmed the child.
Read MoreOn Tuesday, December 10th at 12:00pm CST (1:00pm EST) Young Center staff held a webinar to speak about how the Remain in Mexico and Transit ban policies have changed our work and what we’re doing to fight back.
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