Safe Passage Project (SPP), testified before the New York City Council’s Committee on Immigration on March 25, 2026 about the serious legal and logistical challenges facing unaccompanied immigrant youth in New York City.

SPP urged the New York City Council to protect unaccompanied immigrant youth who have already been granted Special Immigrant Juvenile Status, a humanitarian protection established by Congress, but who continue to face warrantless arrests, loss of work authorization, and erosion of due process rights in immigration court.

“Many of our clients with approved SIJS do not have access to work permits and Social Security numbers, and have lost a critical layer of protection from deportation while awaiting visas. This forces them into the shadows, thereby increasing their vulnerability to food insecurity, housing instability, and labor exploitation. As a result, our social workers must expend more time connecting clients to food assistance programs, navigating shelter processes, providing mental health support, and connecting clients to city and state agencies for alternative forms of identification.” — Rachel Jordan, Safe Passage Project

“A reprehensible act of unimaginable cruelty.” — Judge Gary Brown, United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York, on the arrest and detention of an SPP client with approved Special Immigrant Juvenile Status.

Read the full testimony here.