Since January, we have seen children remain in custody even after being approved for release. Safe and vetted caregivers have faced arrest and deportation while attempting to reunify and bring children home. Families separated at the border in 2018 have been re-detained a second time, reliving trauma they should never have had to endure to begin with.
These family separations require urgent advocacy for children who should never be in detention in the first place. Kids now remain separated from the anchors of their childhood for more than six months – far from familiar voices, favorite foods, and the comfort of their daily routines. They deserve to be back home. Back in their classrooms, playing with their neighbors, and sleeping beneath blankets that smell like home.
At the Young Center, we are meeting this moment with coordinated resolve across detention facilities, federal courtrooms, in communities and coalitions, and in the halls of Congress. In these first months of 2026 alone, we have expanded litigation capacity, supported children pursuing release to family when dangerous policies delayed their reunification, continued our narrative change campaign All Children Belong, strengthened partnerships across disability and reproductive justice movements, and fielded urgent requests from child welfare and community partners navigating enforcement actions involving children.
Learn more about what we’re doing by downloading the report below.