The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) facilities are responsible for the custody and care of unaccompanied alien children (UAC). The Office of Inspector General (OIG) report, Care Provider Facilities Described Challenges Addressing Mental Health Needs of Children in HHS Custody, on the facilities that care for children
On August 7, 2019 the Administration, through Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), conducted a raid that resulted in the arrest of 680 people targeted through various plants in Mississippi. The raid is considered the largest in US history. The ICE raid included more than 600 agents and targeted chicken processing plants which have high immigrant
On August 21, 2019 the Administration announces a final new rule that would overturn the 1997 Flores settlement. Last October 2018, CWLA submitted comments on the Administration’s proposed regulation that, in part, restricts child detentions to no more than 20 days. The new regulation is an attempt to change the federal government responsibilities under the
On July 1, 2019 the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (the National Academies) held a report launch for The Promise of Adolescence: Realizing Opportunity for All Youth. There were three panels, including Sandra Gasca-Gonzalez from the Annie E. Casey Foundation, July Diers from the Ford Foundation Stanford undergraduate and publication cover artist
The President can likely dominate the Washington coverage of immigration in the next month with the courts being the only potential roadblock to any additional aggressive presidential actions. There are a number of immigration bills under consideration by either House of the Congress. The Senate wrapped up their work on Thursday in the most contentious
On July 26, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced a new initiative, Foster Youth to Independence (FYI), to offer housing vouchers to young people aging out of foster care and those facing homelessness. HHS reports that more than 20,000 young people age out of foster care each year and many of
On July 25, 2019, the House Committee on the Judiciary held a hearing entitled “Oversight of Family Separation and U.S. Customs and Border Protection Short-Term Custody under the Trump Administration” to examine the situation of detention at the US and Mexico border and the situations in which families are being separated there. In his
On Thursday, July 25, 2019 CWLA President & CEO Chris James-Brown issued a position statement regarding family separation and national immigration policy. “We are urging Congress and the President to strengthen protections for these families and, where protections don’t exit, to create them in an appropriate way that keeps families together. CWLA also urges great
The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights released a new report on Tuesday, July 23 titled, "Beyond Suspensions: Examining School Discipline Policies and Connections to the School-to-Prison Pipeline for Students of Color with Disabilities" calling on the Trump Administration to replace the Obama Administration 2014 school discipline guidance. The comprehensive 224-page report examines how federal
On July 16, the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute (CCAI) hosted the 2019 Foster Youth Internship (FYI) Program Congressional Briefing. This was CCAI's 17th annual hearing consisting of policy recommendations from each presenter of the 2019 FYI Cohort including Anthony Abshire, Joshua Christian, Liliana Cory, Ria Esteves, David Samuel Hall, Sheree Hickman, Mackenzie McGeehan, Alexander