Young Center for Immigrant Children's Rights

The Young Center is a champion for the best interests of children who arrive in the United States on their own, from all corners of the world. We serve as trusted allies for these children while they are in deportation proceedings, advocating for their best interests, and standing for the creation of a dedicated children’s immigrant justice system that ensures the safety and well-being of every child. Young Center attorneys and social workers, along with bilingual volunteers, are appointed as Child Advocate (guardian ad litem) by the Department of Health and Human Services. Our role is to advocate for their best interests—from custody and release to the ultimate decision about whether the child will be allowed to remain in the U.S. Our goal is to change both immigration policy and practice so that immigrant children are recognized first as children and their best interests are considered in every decision. Our goal is to change the immigration system so that children in immigration proceedings are recognized as children, and best interests are made a part of the decision making process.

Our volunteers work one-on-one with unaccompanied migrant children to connect with them and advocate for their rights. We have some basic requirements to volunteering with us: Must be at least 21 years old Speak a language other than English We ask they have access to a car to get to meetings with the child We host multiple new volunteer trainings throughout the year in both virtual and in-person formats.