Young Center in the News
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Great.com interviewed Young Center Executive Director Gladis Molina Alt as part of their 'Great.com Talks With...' podcast. This series is an antidote to negative news stories that aims to shed light on organizations and experts whose work is making a positive impact on the world.
Fact checking GOP warnings of immigrant 'ghost flights'
Young Center Policy Director Jennifer Nagda spoke with WHYY about the misinformation campaign targeting immigrant children who are being reunited with their families in Pennsylvania.
Yanking Licenses from Shelters Puts Children at Risk | Opinion
In this op-ed for Newsweek, Young Center Senior Litigation Attorney Jane Liu and Managing Social Worker based in Harlingen, Texas Carrie Vander Hoek discuss how Governor Greg Abbott's decision to yank licenses from shelters in Texas puts children in harm's way.
A Man And His Nephew Are Still Grappling With The Trauma Of Being Separated At The Border Under The Biden Administration
“It’s traumatizing for the child and the family member,” Young Center Policy Director Jennifer Nagda on how children are still separated from trusted adults at the border and it doesn’t need to be that way. Learn about our advocacy work to end these separations in this BuzzFeed News article.
Biden Has Few Good Options for the Unaccompanied Children at the Border
Young Center Policy Director Jennifer Nagda spoke with The New Yorker about the challenges facing unaccompanied children seeking protection at the border.
'We tortured families': The lingering damage of Trump's separation policy
Young Center Policy Director Jennifer Nagda and Deputy Program Director Vanessa Pineda spoke with the Guardian about what they saw during the family separation crisis and how the Biden-Harris administration can help the families impacted by it.
Migrant Families Were Confused When U.S. Expelled Children Into Mexico
For more than seven months, children seeking protection at our border have been turned away. Young Center Policy Director Jennifer Nagda highlights how little we know about these children and the harm our government has perpetrated against them in this article by Caitlin Dickerson in The New York Times.
The White House Is Quietly Deporting Children
“In October 2017 the White House issued a wish list of immigration policies it wanted to carry out. First on the list was building the border wall. No. 2 was deporting children who were traveling on their own. That is quietly happening right now, with public health as the excuse,” Young Center Executive Director wrote in an op-ed for The New York Times.
House Democrats Demand Trump Administration Stop Rushing Through Deportations of Migrant Children
The White House Is Quietly Deporting Children under the cover of COVID-19, ICE is deporting children expeditiously, often to the very same dangers they fled from.
“It has tried tactic after tactic, from separating children from their parents to forcing asylum-seeking families to wait indefinitely in dangerous conditions in Mexico,” Young Center Policy Director Jennifer Nagda told ProPublica. “But COVID provided cover for the administration’s ultimate strategy — closing the door to all children.”
More Than 900 Children Have Been Expelled Under a Pandemic Border Policy
Under the cover of COVID-19, DHS is unlawfully turning back immigrant children seeking protection at the border.
“The fact that nobody knows who these kids are and there are hundreds of them is really terrifying...There’s no telling if they’ve been returned to smugglers or into harm’s way,” Young Center Policy Director Young Center Policy Director Jennifer Nagda told The New York Times.
Citing coronavirus, the U.S. is swiftly deporting unaccompanied migrant children
In light of the Department of Homeland Security unlawfully deporting unaccompanied children seeking protection at the border, Young Center Policy Director Jennifer Nagda spoke with CBS about how the U.S. has the capacity to protect immigrant children despite COVID-19.
Most courts closed due to coronavirus — but not those that serve high-risk populations
Although in light of COVID-19, the Department of Justice recently cancelled initial hearings for immigrants who are not detained, the agency has insisted on moving forward with hearings for detained immigrants, including children in custody. Young Center Policy Director Jennifer Nagda spoke with Vox about the need for an immediate halt to all non-emergency court proceedings.
”More Children Face Immigration Judges Through Video Screens
Young Center’s Child Advocate Program Director Gladis Molina spoke with the Associated Press about how video hearings rob children of the chance to be seen as children.
The U.S. continues to separate migrant families. For one father, a miscommunication proved costly
CBS wrote about a father and son who were forcibly separated from each other at the border and reunified with help from the Young Center. Our Policy Director Jennifer Nagda spoke with CBS on the continued family separation crisis.
Immigration Courts' Video Evolution Stirs Due Process Fears
Young Center’s Policy Associate Miriam Abaya spoke with Law 360 on how video teleconferencing in court deprives children due process and the opportunity to tell their stories.
ACLU: U.S. has taken nearly 1,000 child migrants from their parents since judge ordered stop to border separations
“Jennifer Nagda, policy director of the Young Center for Immigrant Children’s Rights, a child advocate for unaccompanied and separated children, told the U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Reform that the group represented about 120 children and found that nearly all separations were contrary to the best interests of the child.”
Trump administration has separated hundreds of children from their migrant families since 2018
"‘We are alarmed,’ said Jennifer Nagda, policy director at the Young Center for Immigrant Children’s Rights, a Chicago-based national human rights group. ‘In March and April, we again saw a notable increase.’"
For unaccompanied minors, countdown to 18th birthday is filled with fear and dread
CNN spoke with Young Center’s Deputy Program Director Xiaorong Jajah Wu about ICE custody of teens: “Wu oversees offices in Houston and Chicago, where she says it is the child's attorney or child advocates who put forth alternatives to adult detention, ‘basically begging ICE not to take these kids on their 18th birthday.’”
CBS-San Antonio in Texas interviewed Young center staff Tania Torres and volunteer Child Advocate Luis Acosta about their experiences supporting unaccompanied immigrant children.
Advocates decry rule that would strip licenses from providers who help unaccompanied immigrant kids
A new rule in Florida will strip licenses from shelters and foster care organizations that serve immigrant children. Young Center Senior Litigation Attorney Jane Liu spoke with WLRN about why this harms children.
In Mexico border camps, families ‘wait for US doors to open’
“Title 42 really isn’t a health issue, it’s an immigration deterrent. It’s a way to keep migrants out. This policy has to end. It’s our number-one issue,” Young Center Executive Director Gladis Molina Alt told Al Jazeera English.
2,500 now living at migrant encampment in dangerous border city of Reynosa, Mexico
Title 42 is forcing families to live in dangerous conditions. Border Report wrote about conditions and the Young Center’s effort to support families.
U.S. immigration attorneys provided legal counsel to Reynosa migrants
A team of Young Center staff visited Reynosa, Mexico to meet with and answer the questions of asylum-seeking families trapped at the border due to Title 42. The Rio Grande Valley Monitor covered their visit.
Trump-Era ‘Remain in Mexico’ Policy Hurts Children, Groups Say
Bloomberg covered an amicus brief filed by the Young Center for Immigrant Children’s Rights alongside other children and immigrant rights organizations to tell the stories of children harmed by the Remain in Mexico policy.
What happens to unaccompanied child migrants to US?
"With time, with a child-centered approach, a trauma-informed approach, the children we work with open up despite the trauma they may have experienced," Young Center Deputy Director Olivia Peña in conversation with BBC News on unaccompanied immigrant children’s journeys to safety.
Despite 'Ample Warning,' U.S. Was Unprepared For Latest Surge Of Migrant Children
Young Center Policy Director Jennifer Nagda and Deputy Program Director Olivia Peña spoke with NPR about why so many children are seeking protection at our borders now and how we can ensure they have a chance to find safety and be with their families.
U.S. shelters received more than 7,000 migrant children in February, posing early border test for Biden
As more children arrive at the border to seek protection, the Young Center is among the organizations working for their release from custody and reunification with family and sponsors. Young Center Policy Director Jennifer Nagda spoke with CBS about the challenges facing children and organizations serving them.
How Trump officials used COVID-19 to shut U.S. borders to migrant children
CBS tells the story of Noeli and Valeria, two of the many children served by the Young Center in their journey to seek safety during a time when the administration is unlawfully turning away thousands of children at the border.
Parents of 545 Children Separated at Border Have Not Been Found
Young Center Child Advocate Program Director Gladis Molina Alt spoke with KQED (NPR-San Francisco) to discuss the Trump administration's family separation policy, how it started, its long-lasting harm, and how it continues today.
ICE held 660 migrant kids set for expulsion in hotels, independent monitor reveals
The vast majority of children seeking protection at the border are returned to the danger they fled in the first place. Young Center Policy Director Jennifer Nagda spoke with CBS about why DHS’s decision to hold children in hotels and “expel” them has nothing to do with public health.
Just 39 unaccompanied migrant children avoided Trump's border expulsions in May
“There were 1,000 children who came to our border and asked for help and - with 39 exceptions - every single one of them was turned away… We are sending children back to traffickers, back to persecutors, back to abusers,” Young Center Policy Director Jennifer Nagda told CBS.
Coronavirus: Gobierno Trump ha deportado a más de 900 menores inmigrantes en medio de la pandemia
“Las leyes de Estados Unidos no han cambiado. Por ley los oficiales de inmigración deben de poner a los menores no acompañados bajo la custodia del gobierno federal para que ellos puedan contar su historia y pedir la protección que necesitan en un lugar seguro.”-Centro Young Directora Adjunta Olivia Peña en conversación con Univision.
U.S. suspends protections for migrant kids at border, expelling hundreds amid pandemic
"The administration is using coronavirus and the pandemic as a cover for doing what it has always wanted to do, which was to close the border to children…There is no real public health justification for turning these children away at the border — and it absolutely violates federal law," Young Center Policy Director Jennifer Nagda told CBS. appointed to, including in R's case detailed in this article, there has been no legal justification for the separation.
COVID-19 keeps attorneys, advocates away from shelters for immigrant children
National Journal wrote about some of the challenges facing immigrant children in government custody due to COVID-19. We joined to discuss the mental health needs of children and the importance of expeditious and safe family reunification.
The Coronavirus Comes To Immigration Court
Despite imminent harm from COVID-19, immigration court hearings for children in government custody are ongoing. We talked to Buzzfeed about how video hearings are not an acceptable alternative and all non-emergency hearings must be halted.
New Trump administration policies fast-track some children’s immigration court hearings, including video pilot in Houston
As video hearings were piloted for children in custody in Houston, Young Center Policy Director Jennifer Nagda spoke with the Houston Chronicle about how video hearings harm immigrant children by denying due process.
Commentary: Far away from their parents, children like Elena, 11, and Edgar, 14 months, navigate Immigration Court in Chicago alone
Young Center Board member Frances de Pontes Peebles' Op Ed in the Chicago Tribune paints a picture of what immigrant court looks like for children forcibly-separated from their families.
Immigration Law Changes, Explained
Young Center’s Managing Attorney in Phoenix Vanessa Pineda joined the Las Doctoras Recomiendan Podcast to discuss changes to immigration policies and how they impact children and families in our communities.
How The Trump Administration's Family Separation Policy Is Playing Out
“In recent days, there's been an uproar over children being separated from their parents at the U.S.-Mexico border. NPR's Mary Louise Kelly speaks with Jennifer Nagda, policy director at the Young Center for Immigrant Children's Rights.”
The Trump Administration’s Sustained Attack on the Rights of Immigrant Children
Young Center’s Policy Director Jennifer Nagda spoke with The New Yorker’s Jonathan Blitzer about the administration’s new Flores regulations that would allow the indefinite detention of children.
The Children in Government Detention
The New York Times shared a drawing and poem by David, a young boy served by the Young Center for Immigrant Children’s Rights.
Family Reunification Task Force Gears up to Reunite Migrant Parents and Children
Young Center Deputy Program Director Vanessa Pineda spoke with PBS in Chicago about her experiences working with separated immigrant children during the Trump administration.
Advocating For The Best Interests Of Immigrant Children
For Forbes, UNICEF interview Young Center Deputy Program Director Olivia Peña about the organization’s work to fight for the best interests of children in deportation proceedings.
Finding a new start in the US through education
Borderless Magazine interviewed Vida Opoku, a former Young Center client, about her journey seeking safety and the role the Young Center played in supporting her.
New Report Says 545 Children Separated at Border Are Still in U.S. Custody
Young Center Executive Director Maria Woltjen joined WBEZ to discuss the Trump administration’s policies of family separation, and how they started and continue today.
We must preserve asylum to protect children
Young Center Policy Analyst Miriam Abaya tells the story of a child served by the Young Center and the importance of protecting asylum for children like her in this op-ed for The Hill.
Despite ‘on Fire’ Conditions, Children Remain in ICE Custody
“The idea of ripping children away is…completely antithetical to what we know about children’s healthy development and their well-being emotionally and psychologically,” Young Center Policy Director Jennifer Nagda told Sojourners.
CBP Is Using Pandemic as Cover for Deportations, Advocates Say
“We can allow children into this country and protect public health at the same time. Sending them back to the very dangers that they fled is not the solution if we’re in fact focused on children’s welfare,” Young Center Policy Analyst told Sojourners.
Trump administration is using the pandemic to halt young asylum-seekers
The World’s Marco Werman interviewed Young Center Policy Director Jennifer Nagda about how the administration is unlawfully turning away unaccompanied immigrant children at the border and what viable alternative exist to protect children and public health.
Why Did the Government Separate This Family?
More than 1150 children have been forcibly separated from their parents since the end of the "zero-tolerance" policy. In nearly every case we've been appointed to, including in R's case detailed in this article, there has been no legal justification for the separation.
Lawyer: Honduran teen deported despite claims father sexually abused her back home
Despite national advocacy, a teenage girl the Young Center was appointed to was unjustly deported to danger on April 24, 2020. Border Report, Newsweek, and BuzzFeed were among the outlets that tell her story.
Close the immigration courts — protect immigrant children
“There is only one way to make sure that unaccompanied children are healthy and have a fair chance in immigration court: Close the courts and postpone their hearings,” Young Center Executive Director Maria Woltjen wrote in an op-ed for The Hill.
Deportation Hearings By Video Present New Challenges for Migrant Children
As COVID-19 spreads, some immigration courts have turned to video hearings for unaccompanied and separated immigrant children in government custody. We discussed the undeniable harms of video hearings to children and due process with Gothamist.
In New York, Even a Count of Separated Children Proves Elusive
“…the Young Center for Immigrant Children’s Rights, provides “ad litem” support to children in New York, to advocate for the best interests of the child, but only has two lawyers and one social worker in New York. On Friday, another lawyer was on the way.
After 183 days apart, Honduran man reunites with the 8-year-old brother he raised like a son
Our New York Staff Attorney, Rebecca Rittenhouse, served as Child Advocate Supervisor for Andy’s case along with Young Center volunteer Jenny Amaya. Together they worked tirelessly to reunite the brothers.
Lawyer Maria Woltjen: “My Work Does Make Me Angry, but That Fuels Me”
Lawyer Maria Woltjen is the director of the Young Center for Immigrant Children’s Rights, which recruits and trains child advocates for children going through deportation proceedings. She single-handedly piloted the program in 2004… Now, the organization has eight offices across the country. Here, she talks about her “quite balanced” life, taking time off work to be a mom, and why it’s okay that her work makes her angry.
Feminist Organizations are Fighting for Migrant Children at the Border
“The Young Center for Immigrant Children’s Rights advocates for the rights of migrant children as Child Advocates, appointed by the Department of Health and Human Resources, who meet with children in federal custody “every week,” according to Laila Alvarez, the Volunteer Coordinator at the Young Center’s Los Angeles site.”
Organization bringing hope to immigrant children
“They’re alone at the end of the day. They’re children, and they need support…We want to make sure that those children know that we’re there for them. That we’re their voice and that they know that someone is looking out for what’s best for them, despite being in such a complex system,” says Young Center’s Managing Attorney in Harlingen Olivia Peña.
Migrant children held in Texas facility need access to doctors, says attorney
“Jennifer Nagda, policy director at the Young Center for Immigrant Children’s Rights, said that the issue stems from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) treating detention centers as part of enforcement instead of a site for protecting adults and children.
'It is incredibly frustrating when you know that on the part of homeland security, it is not due to a lack of resources, it is due to a lack of intention,’ Nagda said.”