Category

Immigrant Youth

Dismantling Protections: How ORR Policy Changes Trap Children in Extended Detention

By | Detention, Federal Policy, Immigrant Youth, Law & Policy, Law/Policy Highlight, Unaccompanied Minors

Dismantling Protections: How ORR Policy Changes Trap Children in Extended Detention

Jonathan Beier, Ruben Ortiz, and Kofi Forkuo-Sekyere; Acacia Center for Justice (September 2025)

This report discusses how recent policy changes within ORR that break down pathways to release are keeping children in detention for prolonged periods of time

Considerations for Unaccompanied Immigrant Children in the Child Welfare Reform Debate

By | Child Welfare System Research, Foster Care, Immigrant Youth, Research, Research Highlight, Unaccompanied Minors

Considerations for Unaccompanied Immigrant Children in the Child Welfare Reform Debate

Zayna Lyon, Kerri Evans, Linda-Jeanne M. Mack, and Morgan Pardue-Kim; Families in Society (February 8, 2025)

This article examines how the debate over abolishing or reforming the child welfare system has overlooked unaccompanied immigrant children served by ORR, calling for greater access to ORR data and more participatory research to inform policy and practice.

 

Expedited Removal and Unaccompanied Children: An FAQ

By | Deportation, Immigrant Youth, Immigration Enforcement, Legal Professionals, Practice, Practice Highlight, Unaccompanied Minors

Expedited Removal and Unaccompanied Children: An FAQ

Immigrant Legal Resource Center, Children’s Immigration Law Academy, and National Immigration Project (November 21, 2025)

This resource addresses concerns about the Trump administration’s January 2025 expansion of expedited removal to the U.S. interior, providing common questions and legal arguments against applying this deportation process to unaccompanied children or special immigrant juvenile status recipients.

Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals: What Practitioners Need to Know

By | Immigrant Youth, Immigration Relief, Legal Professionals, Practice, Practice Highlight

Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals: What Practitioners Need to Know

ILRC Attorneys, Immigrant Legal Resource Center (December 19, 2025)

This practice advisory outlines ongoing DACA trends, policy changes, and potential future scenarios amid uncertain litigation and Trump administration attacks on immigrants, providing crucial information for advocates to help DACA holders strategize and prepare for possible changes to the program.

How the Administration’s Enforcement Policies Are Separating Families and Harming Unaccompanied Children

By | Child Well-Being, Family Separation, Federal Policy, Immigrant Youth, Immigration Enforcement, Law & Policy, Trauma, Unaccompanied Minors

How the Administration’s Enforcement Policies Are Separating Families and Harming Unaccompanied Children

Kids in Need of Defense (January 13, 2026)

This policy brief documents how the Trump administration is using government agencies to separate families and remove thousands of children from the U.S., disregarding children’s rights and safety while deepening trauma and blocking reunification, and calls for urgent action to restore protections for family unity and children’s well-being.

Newcomer Immigrant Youth in the Bay Area: Uplifting Voices, Identifying Solutions

By | Immigrant Families Research, Immigrant Youth, Research, Research Highlight

Newcomer Immigrant Youth in the Bay Area: Uplifting Voices, Identifying Solutions

Melissa Adamson, National Center for Youth Law (2025)

This report lifts up the voices of newcomer youth and service providers in the Bay Area to reveal how systemic barriers deepen inequities despite California’s strong immigrant commitments, and highlights key challenges, recommendations, and an overview of state-funded programs serving these youth.

A Timeline: Tracking How the Second Trump Administration Is Rolling Back Protections for Unaccompanied Children

By | Child Well-Being, Federal Policy, Highlighted Resources, Immigrant Youth, Law & Policy, Law/Policy Highlight, Safety, Unaccompanied Minors

A Timeline: Tracking How the Second Trump Administration Is Rolling Back Protections for Unaccompanied Children

Kids in Need of Defense (October 6, 2025)

This timeline follows the policy changes that have eroded child welfare and anti-trafficking safeguards for children seeking safety in the United States during the 2nd Trump administration.

Expedited Removal and Unaccompanied Children: An FAQ

By | Deportation, Highlighted Resources, Immigrant Youth, Immigration Enforcement, Legal Professionals, Practice, Practice Highlight, Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS), Unaccompanied Minors

Expedited Removal and Unaccompanied Children: An FAQ

Immigrant Legal Resource Center (November 21, 2025)

This resource addresses concerns about the Trump administration’s January 2025 expansion of expedited removal and provides arguments against applying this deportation process to young people who entered as unaccompanied children or have approved SIJS.

The Unraveling of ORR: A Quick and Calculated Undoing of a System Intended to Protect Children

By | Child Well-Being, Federal Policy, Foster Care, Immigrant Youth, Law & Policy, Law/Policy Highlight, Unaccompanied Minors

The Unraveling of ORR: A Quick and Calculated Undoing of a System Intended to Protect Children

Neha Desai, Melissa Adamson, & Dr. Ryan Matlow; National Center for Youth Law (September 2025)

This briefing examines recent ORR policy changes, documents the barriers and extended custody times children face, presents expert psychological analysis of the harms caused, and proposes congressional solutions to improve outcomes for unaccompanied children in federal care.

 

Open