Regardless of immigration status, children in the United States have legal rights that exist to protect their safety, well-being, and dignity. These include the right to be treated as children, to safety and protection, to an education, to due process, and to seek legal protection.
Understanding these rights matters for families, educators, healthcare providers, community members, and advocates who want to ensure children receive the protections they deserve.
Immigrant Children Have the Right to Be Treated as Children
Every child deserves to be seen as a child before they are seen as a case number or legal file with a pending immigration determination.
Children who arrive in the United States may be fleeing violence, poverty, abuse, or unsafe living conditions. Many children have no choice but to travel to the United States with their family. Often, they arrive alone or are separated from a parent or caregiver along the way.
No matter their circumstances, their needs must be viewed through a child-centered lens — one that protects their right to safety, education, due process, and legal protection. This should help inform educators, healthcare providers, community members, and families. It is also the foundation of the Young Center’s approach to advocacy for immigrant children.
The Right to Safety and Protection
One of the most important rights of immigrant children is the right to be safe. The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child establishes that all children have the right to protection from abuse, neglect, trafficking, and exploitation — rights further reinforced in U.S. law through the Trafficking Victims Protection Act. For children who have already experienced trauma, safety is not just about where they are placed. It is also about whether they have trusted adults around them, whether their needs are being heard, and whether decisions are being made in their best interests — not out of convenience or lack of resources.
The “best interests of the child” is a legal standard, recognized in both international and U.S. law, that puts a child’s safety, well-being, and long-term needs at the center of every decision that affects them. It means asking not just what is convenient or expedient, but what will truly protect and support that specific child.
This is especially important for unaccompanied immigrant children, who may be navigating the immigration system without a parent or legal guardian to support them. Recent policy decisions, including Tennessee’s move to threaten lifesaving care for immigrant children with disabilities, show why these protections cannot be taken for granted.
Immigrant Children Have the Right to an Education
Immigrant children in the United States have the right to attend public school, regardless of their immigration status. This right was affirmed by the U.S. Supreme Court in Plyler v. Doe (1982), which held that states cannot deny public education to children based on their immigration status. It is also enshrined in Article 28 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, which recognizes education as a fundamental right of every child.
School can offer more than academics. For many children, it provides routine, connection with the community, and a sense of normalcy during an otherwise uncertain time. Being able to continue learning, make friends, and participate in a classroom environment is a crucial part of a child’s adjustment and healing.
Education is not just a service. For children, it is part of their foundation.
The Right to Due Process
For many children, immigration court can be confusing, intimidating, and difficult to understand. Court hearings, legal terminology, paperwork, and deadlines can feel overwhelming for adults, let alone children who may already be coping with separation from loved ones, uncertainty about the future, or experiences of trauma.
Protections for children in immigration proceedings are grounded in the Flores Settlement Agreement, which established minimum standards for the detention, release, and treatment of immigrant children in U.S. custody. That is why the Young Center’s support matters. Through Child Advocates, the organization helps ensure that children are seen not simply as participants in a legal process, but as children whose safety, relationships, and futures deserve thoughtful consideration. Advocates take the time to understand each child’s unique circumstances and help elevate what is in that child’s best interests throughout the immigration process.
Because every child deserves someone asking an important question: “What is best for this child?”
The Right to Seek Protection
Some immigrant children may qualify for legal protection in the United States based on what they have experienced before or during their journey here. Under U.S. law and international refugee protections, children who have fled persecution, violence, or abuse may be eligible for asylum or other forms of relief, including Special Immigrant Juvenile Status for children who have experienced abuse, abandonment, or neglect.
For some, returning to their country of origin may not be a safe option. For others, family relationships, caregiving arrangements, or personal circumstances may require careful consideration.
Every child’s story is different, which is why individualized legal support for immigrant children is so important. Decisions that impact a child’s life should never be made without considering all the pillars that require a safe upbringing.
Because when children are involved, the goal should not simply be resolving a case. It should ensure that every child is seen, heard, and protected.
Supporting the Rights of Immigrant Children
Protecting immigrant children takes advocates, attorneys, caregivers, educators, and communities working together. It requires systems that do more than process cases. It requires systems that recognize each child’s humanity.
The immigration system can be complex, but the principle guiding this work is simple: children deserve to be treated as children.
The Young Center works to ensure that immigrant children are not navigating these experiences alone and that their best interests remain at the center of decisions that shape their lives and futures.
Learn more about the Young Center’s mission and child-centered advocacy for immigrant children, or support this work directly by becoming a Volunteer Child Advocate or making a donation today.
