We partnered with the Dignity Not Detention Coalition to create a resource outlining recommendations for what healthy, just, and supportive immigration policy can look like for unaccompanied youth immigrating to the US, without relying on detention or detention-like facilities.
July 17, 2021
We partnered with the Dignity Not Detention Coalition to create a resource outlining recommendations for what healthy, just, and supportive immigration policy can look like for unaccompanied youth immigrating to the US, without relying on detention or detention-like facilities.
We partnered with the Dignity Not Detention Coalition to create a resource outlining recommendations for what healthy, just, and supportive immigration policy can look like for unaccompanied youth immigrating to the US, without relying on detention or detention-like facilities.
Thousands of immigrant youth arrive to the US without a parent or legal guardian and are placed in the custody of the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) until they can be released to a sponsor. Often ORR detains these youth in restrictive, large-scale, congregate settings that harm their health and well-being.
Rooted in the stories, experiences, and recommendations of young people who arrived to the US as unaccompanied youth, this resource draws from public health evidence documenting the health harms of these large-scale, restrictive settings. It puts forward a vision for ending the current system of detaining unaccompanied minors in harmful settings and for shaping healthy, just, and supportive immigration policy for unaccompanied youth.
Following the work of organizations with experience and expertise in working with unaccompanied youth — including the Detention Watch Network and the Immigrant Legal Resource Center — the resource presents a list of systemic and long-term recommendations that promote the health and well-being of impacted youth.
The effects of current US policies for unaccompanied youth reverberate throughout a child’s life, to their families and communities, and across borders. In the current system, many young people are confined and harmed, rather than supported and welcomed. With the recommendations in this resource, we are working towards the world we all want for our children: one where young people are united with their families, where they have the resources and support they need to thrive, and where they are happy, healthy, safe, and free.