Kids in Need of Defense

More refugee and migrant children are arriving in Europe without a parent or caregiver. A new UN report finds that 67% of children arriving in 2025 were unaccompanied or separated, highlighting the urgent need for stronger protections and safer migration pathways.

A 7-year-old appeared in immigration court without an attorney and was ordered to leave the U.S. within 30 days. As proceedings accelerate, more children face life-altering decisions without legal representation.

Watch KIND's Jason Boyd discuss growing concerns about information sharing between ORR and ICE during a press briefing hosted by @acaciajustice.org last week.

Children as young as 5 are reportedly being offered $3,000 to leave the U.S., sometimes without an attorney or time to consider the consequences. A child cannot be expected to understand the legal protections they are giving up.

Family unity is a fundamental right. On Oct. 22, KIND will co-sponsor a UN event launching a new report on children's right to family life and unity in migration. KIND President Wendy Young will deliver opening remarks. Join the conversation: https://bit.ly/4jVKSmL

During Hispanic Heritage Month, KIND was honored by NY Governor Kathy Hochul for our work supporting unaccompanied children. Marilia Richards accepted the award on behalf of KIND, recognizing the children we serve and our New York team's unwavering dedication. 💙

What happens when the system moves faster than a child’s case can be properly prepared? KIND's Emily Norman tells us the impact of accelerated asylum interviews and immigration court proceedings. Learn more: https://bit.ly/3TGmpYa

Children in immigration court need independent lawyers whose sole duty is to advocate for them. AP reports HHS is creating an in-house legal team to represent unaccompanied children, raising serious concerns about independence of counsel and due process.

Family unity must be central to migration policy. 150+ governments, UN agencies & stakeholders support the GCM Family Unity Initiative. KIND joined partners to help shape Roadmap 2030 and advance family-centered migration pathways. Learn more: https://bit.ly/4rPMwZ8

KIND was seeing about 10 asylum interviews for clients each month at the beginning of the year. After federal legal-services funding lapsed, that jumped to 125+ a month. Children need time to build trust, prepare, and be heard. Now they’re being given less of it. Learn more: https://bit.ly/3TGmpYa

Thank you @salinas.house.gov for joining KIND’s press call and continuing to raise concerns about the treatment of unaccompanied children. Children deserve access to legal representation, due process, and safe family reunification—especially amid prolonged detention and accelerated proceedings.

“These proceedings could determine whether you remain in the country or are removed.” But what does that mean to a 13-year-old without an attorney? A 7-year-old? A 3-year-old? Children need legal support and processes designed around their age and development to meaningfully participate.

A fair legal process can't depend on a child understanding immigration law alone. Yet unaccompanied children are facing the U.S. immigration system without attorneys. The Fair Day in Court for Kids Act would guarantee them legal counsel. Urge Congress to support the bill. https://bit.ly/3TqQriw

Unaccompanied children in U.S. federal custody deserve strong safeguards. Yet in Texas, facilities housing them operate without state child-welfare licensing as more children are sent there. Oversight matters. Children in immigration custody deserve protection and accountability.

U.S. federal agencies are increasingly coordinating policies that make it harder for unaccompanied children to reunify with family, access legal representation, seek protection, and avoid prolonged detention. When protections are weakened at every stage, children face the consequences.

An 11-year-old waited nine hours for his U.S. immigration court case to be called. He was one of 25 children in a mass virtual hearing. About half had lawyers. He did not. Children should not be expected to navigate the immigration system alone. Access to legal counsel is critical to due process.

On U.S. #CitizenshipDay, we’re reminded why pathways to citizenship matter. For unaccompanied children, they offer the stability, safety, and fully belong in the communities they now call home. Protecting those pathways helps make that future possible.

Children are being given as little as 3 weeks to find a lawyer as their immigration cases move forward. Meanwhile, asylum grant rates for unaccompanied children fell to about 1.5% in July. Due process cannot be rushed. Children deserve a fair chance to make their case.

Now more than ever, unaccompanied and separated children need protection systems that uphold their rights and help them reach safety and stability, especially when they have been forced to flee violence, persecution, conflict, or abuse.

Children are being given as little as three weeks to find a lawyer before their immigration cases move forward. Reducing a court backlog can't mean rushing children through proceedings they don't understand and expecting them to navigate the system alone.

A 1-year-old was told to file an asylum application or risk deportation. An attorney was reportedly in the courtroom but did not intervene. That is not meaningful representation. Children need lawyers who know their cases and advocate for them, not simply courtroom coverage.

Systems meant to protect unaccompanied children are now feeding detention and deportation instead. Longer custody. Sponsor arrests. Child-welfare information used for enforcement. Weakened access to counsel. Every child deserves due process, protection, and a chance at safety.

New policies are making it harder for unaccompanied children to pursue legal protections—and could move deportation cases forward before their claims are fully resolved. Children deserve a meaningful chance to seek protection and due process.

Teachers can change what school feels like for immigrant students. For 40+ years, Plyler v. Doe has helped protect children’s right to attend public school, regardless of immigration status. But the #RighttoLearn must mean more than a seat in the classroom.

Children deserve legal representation. New York’s $7.25M investment will support legal services for 1,400 unaccompanied children and youth, including 250+ in detention. Thank you, @governor.ny.gov for helping ensure children have lawyers beside them in immigration court. https://on.ny.gov/4bQ2OKR

Children as young as 7 are appearing in immigration court without lawyers. POLITICO shows the consequences: children navigating complex proceedings, translation errors going unchallenged and cases with life-changing stakes moving forward without counsel.

A federal judge has ordered the admin to pay $65M owed to organizations providing legal services to unaccompanied children. The payments are long overdue, but they do not resolve the larger crisis. Children still need access to legal representation, due process & protection. https://bit.ly/4wmpR7z

The administration is using information meant to reunite children with family to target their parents and sponsors for immigration enforcement. That puts families at risk and keeps children in custody longer. A child protection system should protect children—not target their families.

Unaccompanied children now spend an average of 117 days in government custody—up from 30 days in 2024—while their immigration cases continue. As KIND’s Tess Reagan explains, a five-year-old cannot be expected to understand court proceedings or make their case without legal help.

As children’s immigration cases continue and legal help remains under threat, every conversation matters. Interpreters and translators help children communicate with legal teams, understand the process, and be heard. Speak another language? Join our volunteer network: https://bit.ly/3TwC23W

Children as young as three are appearing in immigration court without lawyers. A child cannot be expected to understand immigration law, meet rushed deadlines or defend themselves against deportation. KIND’s Emily Norman described a growing “targeting of children.”

More than 24,000 unaccompanied children could lose access to federally funded legal representation. Without an attorney, children are forced to face immigration court alone while navigating asylum, trafficking, family separation, and prolonged detention.

🚨ORR has shared more than 460,000 leads with ICE since January 2025, contributing to more than 12,000 arrests. When families fear coming forward to reunite with their children, children remain in government custody longer. https://reut.rs/4fWmrTU

“With every passing day, it becomes more difficult to discern where ORR ends and ICE begins.” KIND’s Jason Boyd warns that increased ICE involvement in sponsor vetting can deter families from coming forward out of fear and keep unaccompanied children in custody longer.

Unaccompanied children are being given less time to prepare for immigration court while the legal services they need are being put at risk. Rushing children’s cases while destabilizing their legal support is not due process.

Six children spent 118 to 505 days in federal custody, many with family ready to care for them. Several were released only after attorneys went to court. When family is ready to receive a child, every additional day in custody deepens the harm.

KIND is without federal funding and still owed nearly $25 million for legal services already provided. Your donation helps keep lawyers beside children while their safety and futures remain at stake. Help us protect children’s rights. https://bit.ly/4ppvjVi

One Seattle judge heard 106 children’s immigration cases in a single day. More than 30 children who did not appear were ordered deported. Children need legal representation and adequate time, not accelerated hearings in a system that was never designed for them.

Young people who came to the U.S. alone as children are now being detained and deported at 3x the previous rate. They deserve counsel, due process and a fair chance to seek protection—not detention and accelerated deportation. Via @propublica.org.

[1] Americans support education for all students, no matter where they were born. An April 2026 survey found that over 75% of respondents showed strong support for universal education. #AllChildrenBelong @neatoday.bsky.social @supportkind.org

Mass transfers are not child protection. Unaccompanied children need legal support and stability, not to be moved into already strained systems and pressured to abandon their cases.

The Texas Supreme Court’s ruling blocking Harris County’s Immigrant Legal Services Fund threatens services for approximately 80 KIND clients, and undermines a community-backed effort to keep children from facing deportation proceedings alone. Our full statement.

For more than 40 years, Plyler v. Doe has helped protect children’s right to attend public school, regardless of immigration status. Over the next few weeks, we’ll share why this protection still matters — and what’s at stake when any child is pushed out of the classroom. #RighttoLearn

More than 425,000 children are in immigration court without an attorney. That means children are trying to understand hearings, deadlines, and the threat of deportation without someone by their side. No child should have to go through that alone. https://bit.ly/4oRTriW

A 5-year-old should not have to argue their own asylum case. But immigrant children are being pushed through a complex legal system without guaranteed counsel. New Jersey’s investment in legal representation helps children have a meaningful chance to seek protection. https://bit.ly/4oTZXFS

Unaccompanied children's legal services are under attack, and the funding that makes this work possible is at risk. Add your name to join KIND and members of Congress advocating for continued funding for children’s legal services. act.supportkind.org/page/99071/p...

Unaccompanied children should not face immigration court alone. Without attorneys, children are at greater risk of exploitation, trafficking, and being returned to the very danger they fled. Learn why legal representation is a critical safeguard. https://bit.ly/4g5sMgn