Immigrant children are children.
Stand with us to ensure that all children are safe, supported, and free.
We Serve, We Advocate, We Stand
The Young Center for Immigrant Children’s Rights is the only organization that pairs volunteers with interdisciplinary staff, attorneys and social workers, to accompany and advocate for unaccompanied and separated immigrant children in government custody.
What We Do
We advocate for children’s wishes and best interests
We fight for children’s right to be with family
We keep children safe in and ultimately free from government custody
We ensure kids can access fair proceedings and permanency
We amplify and uplift children’s voices
We support safe communities
Our Impact
Every year, the Young Center serves hundreds of immigrant children, youth, and families who are directly affected by federal and state policies that impact their ability to be safe, to stay together, and live freely in their communities.
Through a holistic approach that involves direct service and accompaniment, stakeholder training, and systems change, the Young Center functions as one element in a larger ecosystem of partners, communities, and organizations that is working together to ensure immigrant children, and their families receive the support that they need.
children served in 2023
48
children from different nationalities facing deportation across 21 states served
335
of the children we worked with were under 12-years-old
479
youth were at risk of being transferred to adult detention
Join our Community of Dedicated Volunteer Child Advocates
Immigrant children who travel to the United States without their parents or are separated from their parents at the border often face a complex immigration system that is adverse to their best interests. Once they are released from federal custody, many of these children remain caught in additional legal proceedings where decision makers ignore their needs, their safety and their well-being.
Volunteer Child Advocates are there to learn a child’s story, and to help advocate for their rights and best interests. Alongside Young Center staff, advocates show companionship, compassion and dependability during a challenging and traumatic time in a child’s life.
Find a Training Near You
Make a difference in the life of an unaccompanied immigrant child by serving as a Volunteer Child Advocate in Chicago, Houston, San Antonio, Harlingen, Phoenix, Los Angeles, New York, Washington, D.C, New Jersey, or Grand Rapids.
Our Publications
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Reimagining Children’s Immigration Proceedings: A Roadmap for an Entirely New System Centered Around Children
With support from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation In this report, we set out to reimagine the way in […]