As we expand our work internationally, KIND is increasingly recognized as a global expert on family reunification. Whether due to forced displacement, barriers to accessing safe migration, or—in the case of the Zero Tolerance Policy, shameful government action—the need to reunify children separated from their parents and caregivers across borders is a foundational right and a key step in ensuring children’s well-being. KIND was recently invited to speak on family reunification at an annual event in Geneva that brings together UNHCR, United Nations Member States, the private sector, academia, nongovernmental organizations, and refugees to discuss and advance international resettlement policy, Consultations on Resettlement and Complementary Pathways.
KIND’s Senior Advisor for Global Legal, Christie Turner-Herbas, who has helped lead KIND’s family reunification efforts since 2017, presented on KIND’s family reunification work and the importance of legal assistance. She highlighted the many ways that KIND works to support family reunification, including:
- Helping to reunite hundreds of children with their parents after they were separated forcibly at the border under the Zero Tolerance Policy
- Representing children separated under the Zero Tolerance Policy in their immigration proceedings
- Helping children in danger in Central America apply to seek safety with their parent or legal guardian in the United States through the Central American Minors (CAM) program
- Signing UNHCR’s Family Reunification Pledge to support refugee family reunification
- Advocating with government officials in Mexico and helping to build their capacity to ensure that best interests determinations for migrating children incorporate family reunification as an option.
Legal assistance is vital to help reunify family members who have been separated across borders, sometimes thousands of miles apart, especially for children who lack access to legal procedures and systems. For example, KIND works with our partners in Ireland to help separated children with refugee status in Ireland reunite with parents who also fled their home country but remain in another part of Europe.
Christie explained the range of legal support that KIND offers, from departure to destination countries, starting with assessing eligibility, supporting best interest determinations for unaccompanied children, counseling them on options available to them, preparing applications, and orienting children on what to expect in the process. In destination countries, children and families can require ongoing assistance accessing permanent status.
In addition to helping children and families directly, legal assistance also helps advance family reunification law and policies. Through individual cases, lawyers may detect challenges, gaps, or needed improvements. Legal assistance can also lead to strategic litigation—where advocates may use individual cases or groups of cases to advance jurisprudence that leads to better laws or can be used to hold governments accountable.
At KIND, we are proud to have reunited hundreds of families over the last few years, and we stand ready to further engage in this important work in other contexts as opportunities arise.
