Our country is facing a humanitarian situation at our southern border. An unprecedented influx of unaccompanied children are migrating to the United States and surrounding countries in order to flee extreme violence and instability in Central America.
Since October 2013, more than 50,000 children have entered the United States, compared to previous annual totals of 6-8,000. Recent reports reveal that the children are coming primarily from Guatemala, El Savador, and Honduras, and UNHCR estimates that two-thirds of the children qualify for international protection due to the threat of persecution in their home countries.
First Focus Center for the Children of Immigrants has been deeply engaged in advocacy efforts on this issue and is urging both the Administration and Congress to work towards solutions that prioritize the best interest of the child and address the root causes of the violence driving children to flee.
Get Involved
- Sign the We Belong Together petition: No more kids in detention!
- Sign the MomsRising petition urging Congress and the Administration to treat child refugees humanely
- Donate critically needed items or your time through the Border Kids Relief Project
- Help First Focus Center for the Children of Immigrants advocate for child migrants by making a donation
- They Are Children, a forum for people to post letters and videos of support and compassion for the unaccompanied children being detained along the border
Our resources
- Protecting Migrant Children Fleeing from Central America
- Legal Protections for Unaccompanied Minors in the Trafficking Protection Act of 2008
- Vulnerable Immigrant Voice Act Endorsement Letter (From our partners at the First Focus Campaign For Children)
- Letter Urging Congress to Preserve Protections for Immigrant Children (From our partners at the First Focus Campaign For Children)
- Statement for the Record on Child Refugee Crisis (From our partners at the First Focus Campaign for Children)
Our blogs
- Back to School for Migrant Children Too
- They Are Children
- Detention: No Place for Children or Families
Additional resources
- Children on the Run: UNHCR report
- A Treacherous Journey: KIND report
- President Obama’s supplemental emergency funding request
- UNHCR pushes to grant migrant children refugee status
- Vulnerable Immigrant Voice Act (H.R. 4936)
- LIRS Preparing for Unaccompanied Children: Guide for Community Leaders and Service Providers
- Migration & Child Welfare National Network position statement
- National Association of Social Workers Unaccompanied Minors brief