How You Can Help End Family Separation and Support Immigrant Children

 
 
Photo by Vignesh Moorthy

Photo by
Vignesh Moorthy

 

1. Learn the Facts About Family Separation

  • There is no law requiring the separation of parents and children at the border. These separations are a barbaric and cruel tactic the administration is using to deter families from seeking asylum. Read more about this issue and the Young Center’s response here and here.

  • Listen to our recent webinar where Young Center staff from across the U.S. discuss the impact of family separations in their location.

  • Sign up to get action alerts about ongoing legislative developments and other news from the Young Center here.

  • Follow the Young Center on Facebook and Twitter.

2. Contact Your Elected Officials

  • Elected officials who have not yet stepped up to say that “taking children from parents is immoral and un-American” need to hear from you. Call your Senators and Representatives to urge them to support the Keep Families Together Act, a bill which would stop these separations.

  • Ask your Senators and Representatives to reject legislation that would eliminate currently existing protections for immigrant children. Tell them “children must not be used as bargaining chips.”

3. Volunteer

  • Become a Young Center Child Advocate. Child Advocates meet one-on-one weekly with a detained child and assist Young Center staff in advocating for that child’s best interests. Fill out this form to be notified when we have a Child Advocate training near you!

  • If you are an attorney or fluent in another language, contact a local legal services provider to volunteer.

4. Donate to the Young Center

  • Every donation allows us to find more ways to help – to serve another child, to recruit and train another volunteer, and to provide support to families during this time of tremendous uncertainty and stress. Please consider donating or hosting a Facebook fundraiser to support the Young Center’s work in helping to reunite families.

5. Spread the Word

  • Tell your friends, your neighbors, and your community about what’s happening. Send them to our website for more information.

  • Tag the Young Center and use the hashtag #KeepFamiliesTogether in your posts to amplify your voice.

  • Write a letter to your local paper expressing your outrage that our government would take children from parents just to deter families from seeking protection in the U.S.

Together, we can make a difference!

For a PDF version of this article, click here.

 
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