KIND’s Policy and Advocacy team promotes the fair and appropriate treatment of unaccompanied immigrant and refugee children. We educate policymakers and the public about experiences and conditions that force children to migrate alone, barriers that prevent them from fairly accessing U.S. protection, and the challenges and dangers they may face if returned to the countries they fled.
Our team engages with federal agencies, Members of Congress, and other policymakers to support policies that protect children throughout their journey to safety. Drawing upon lessons learned through our representation of thousands of unaccompanied children, we provide technical assistance to policymakers to promote safe and developmentally appropriate treatment of unaccompanied children in federal immigration custody, child-sensitive measures for processing and adjudicating children’s cases, and safeguards to ensure no child is returned to harm.
We educate local, state and national decision-makers about unaccompanied children, the root causes of their migration, family separation, and other issues affecting children alone.
We identify opportunities to promote protections for unaccompanied children through legislation, regulations, policies, programs, and services.
We educate Members of Congress so they can support legislation that protects children alone, improves safety in Central America, and provides fair access to the U.S. immigration system and to legal services.
Hundreds of thousands of unaccompanied children travel through Mexico each year, many seeking to reunite with parents or close relatives in the United States. Until recently, there was no formal mechanism to facilitate safe, legal reunification in a third country—even when it was in a child’s best interests. The U.S.–Mexico Binational Protocol, developed with support […]
Read The U.S.-Mexico Binational Protocol for Transfer of Unaccompanied ChildrenSince 2012, rising violence, poverty, and climate impacts have driven more children from El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras to flee alone in search of safety or to reunite with family in the United States. The Central American Minors (CAM) Program, launched in 2014, offers a life-saving legal pathway for these children. Through in-country processing, parents […]
Read Lawful Pathways for Family Reunification: The Central American Minors (CAM) ProgramNew Campaign Initiative
KIND’s Keeping Kids Safe: A Seamless Safety Net for Children on the Move is a 10-year initiative designed to transform outdated laws, shift conversations about child immigration to center child protection, and reform the way the current U.S. immigration system—and subsequently protection systems across the globe—treats children.
Migrant children need our help now more than ever. This is your chance.
Use your voice and stand up for the rights of migrant children everywhere.
