Celebrating Hope for Children and their Families at the U.S.-Mexico Border 

On World Children’s Day, Kids in Need of Defense (KIND) is celebrating a court decision earlier this week that will help protect migrant children and their families seeking safety in the United States.  U.S. District Court Judge Emmet Sullivan issued a ruling that blocks the Title 42 policy that had virtually closed the border to those seeking protection. Title 42, which the previous Administration instituted in March 2020 under the guise of protecting public health amid the COVID-19 pandemic, expelled migrants seeking asylum—including families and children—from the border, sending them back to dangerous conditions in Mexico. Finding the policy “arbitrary and capricious” and in violation of the Administrative Procedure Act, Judge Sullivan also said that he would not grant any request for a stay.

In response to the decision, KIND President Wendy Young stated, “The reversal of this policy will bring profound relief to thousands who have been suffering for years in often deadly conditions. It is long past time to allow them the ability to seek protection in the United States and a fair chance of safety and a hopeful future. The return to processing asylum seekers at the border will represent a restoration of our values and to upholding the laws that have guided our immigration system for nearly 50 years.” Read her full statement here.

World Children’s Day, celebrated on November 20th each year, was first established in 1954 and commemorates the United Nations (UN) General Assembly’s signing of the Declaration of the Rights of the Child. In 1989, the UN General Assembly also adopted the Convention on the Rights of the Child on November 20th. World Children’s Day is an opportunity to highlight the importance of continuing to work for children’s rights across the world. In acknowledgement of this day, KIND applauds the recent decision to block Title 42 and other policy changes in the U.S. immigration system that will help migrant children and their families seek U.S. protection.