The Young Center, founded at the University of Chicago Law School, visited Safe Passage earlier today to share its important work throughout the country on behalf of immigrant children. Associate Director, Elizabeth Frankel shared details of the Young Center’s work in New York, Texas, and Illinois and its attempt to promote the best interests of unaccompanied immigrant children with due regard to the child’s expressed wishes, according to the Convention on the Rights of the Child. According to the Young Center Mission Statement, “Every young immigrant deserves to be safe. Young children who flee violence, abuse and poverty need an advocate, not an adversary. The Young Center is their champion in an immigration system that is not designed to treat children as children.” The Young Center helps assure that their needs are put foremost and their best interests take priority.

This morning, Ms. Frankel, Lenni Benson, Claire Thomas, and New York Law Schools Students discussed the Young Center model, compared it to that of Safe Passage, ran through hypothetical situations, and discussed ways to improve US Immigration by expanding upon the standard set forth in the TVPRA.