Events

The new administration’s hostile immigration policies have affected immigrants of all ages. These changes have a particular impact on immigrant youth.

In undocumented and mixed-status families, children are experiencing high anxiety and stress, wondering if their parents will be detained or deported. In some instances, immigrant youth have been detained and deported. Additionally, no new Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) applications are being accepted, there is a backlog of green card applications for children who have experienced abuse and neglect, and Office of Refugee Resettlement funding cuts have left unaccompanied children to navigate the complex immigration system without a lawyer.

Some families are no longer sending their children to school because of the fear that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) will show up. Stricter immigration enforcement policies have put added pressure on teachers and school staff, who must now learn how to navigate new and sometimes unclear guidelines on how to handle immigration-related concerns and ICE visits at school.

Join us on Tuesday, May 6th, at 7:00 PM on Zoom, for an important update about these issues. Stephanie Lubert, Esquire Program Manager of HIAS PA’s Immigrant Youth Advocacy Program, will talk about the impact of new immigration policies on immigrant children and what you can do to support immigrant families in your community.

This update is part of a series of monthly programs with members of HIAS PA’s staff. The programs will address the current challenges that immigrants are facing due to ongoing policy changes and what you can do to help.