Today, 540 organizations, hailing from all 50 states, Washington DC and Puerto Rico, called upon DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen to end the practice of separating children from their parents at the U.S. border.
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We continue to hear from people who are outraged by the U.S. government's policy to take children away from their mothers and fathers at the border. We've received an outpouring of support and interest, and many have asked, "How can we help?" Here's how you can help right now: Join today's National Day of Action for Children
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Las Doctoras Recomiendan is supported by the American Academy of Pediatrics, which has stood alongside the Young Center as an outspoken opponent of family separation in recent months. The episode featuring Vanessa is titled “Leyes de Inmigración: lo que toda familia immigrante debe saber” (Immigration laws: what every immigrant family should know).
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On May 7th, Attorney General Sessions announced a new policy to criminally prosecute anyone who comes to the border and separate them from their children. The parents will be placed in federal criminal custody, and their children sent to immigration facilities around the country.
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This Mother’s Day, make a gift in honor of a mother, grandmother, aunt, or any woman who's made a difference in your life.
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no one leaves home unless
home is the mouth of a shark
you only run for the border
when you see the whole city running as well
"I never envisioned running an organization of 40 people. When I first started this work, it was just me—I was the one who traveled down to the border to train child advocates, and the one who went to court. I was in the children’s shelters all the time, in the trenches, and I loved it."
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Last week, the Washington Post published a powerful op-ed by Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) on why we provide protections for unaccompanied immigrant children, and why these laws are not accidental loopholes but intended acts of basic human decency.
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Every day the Young Center works with children separated from parents by U.S. immigration officials. In most cases, the separation is not done to protect the child, but is instead related to the parent’s immigration status. We applaud today's announcement of an investigation into improper family separation at the border.
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In a gripping piece for the New Yorker, Sarah Stillman investigates how the U.S. is deporting migrants who are fleeing danger and seeking asylum, what happens to them when they are forced to leave, and how people are fighting back.
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We’re thrilled to announce that Teresa Sullivan is the Young Center’s new Board President. Teresa is a natural leader, a gifted orator, a skilled fundraiser, and most importantly, a fierce advocate for unaccompanied children.
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On January 8, the Trump administration announced that 200,000 Salvadorans must leave the U.S. These Salvadorans had been allowed to live here since 2001 through the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) program and have built lives in the U.S. Many of them are relatives of the children the Young Center works with—aunts, uncles, siblings who sponsor the children out of federal custody.
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The Young Center is leading an effort to bring together child protection organizations to urge the Administration to abandon plans to separate children from their parents at the border.
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On Tuesday, January 16, more than 130 child welfare, juvenile justice and child development organizations released a letter calling on the Administration to abandon plans to forcibly separate children from their mothers and fathers at the U.S. Mexico border.
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On the eve of the holidays, the Department of Homeland Security is threatening to take children away from their parents when they arrive at the border. This has been happening on an ad hoc basis, but under this policy, all children would be separated.
UPDATE 12/1/17: Thanks to you, we raised $37,000 this #GivingTuesday, surpassing our goal by nearly 50%.
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Jennifer Nagda, the Young Center's director of programs and policy, spoke last week to the Houston Chronicle about immigration authorities separating children and parents
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On November 3rd, our Executive Director, Maria Woltjen, was honored with the UNICEF Chicago Humanitarian Award for her “commitment to putting children first and the impactful work of the Young Center.”
The White House submitted its proposal to Congress plan in which it would allegedly support some kind of protection for DREAMers in exchange for taking away protections from unaccompanied children. Rolling back protections for unaccompanied children—children fleeing violence in Central America—is literally at the top of the administration’s list of demands.
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