April 26, 2022
KIND has witnessed the many challenges confronting children in search of protection and the enduring importance of policies and legal safeguards in the U.S. immigration system to ensure their wellbeing, best interests, and fair access to protection. Many unaccompanied children have fled grave threats to their lives and safety in their countries of origin, including severe violence, abuse, and human trafficking. The perils facing children have only increased in recent years as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, devastating natural disasters in Central America and Haiti, violence and conflict in many regions of the world, and actions such as the Title 42 policy that have blocked children and other protection seekers from requesting protection in the U.S. or expelled them to the very dangers they fled.
