April 29, 2025
Children’s Rights is proud to lend its voice in support of a statement issued by the Children Thrive Action Network (CTAN), a national network of advocates and service providers who work on behalf of children in immigrant families. The statement expresses outrage at the removal of three very young American citizen children without due process. The New York Times reports the children, from two families, were put on flights to Honduras along with their deported noncitizen immigrant mothers.
Leecia Welch, deputy litigation director at Children’s Rights is quoted in the statement:
“Children’s Rights condemns in the strongest terms possible the denial of the constitutional due process rights of all children –citizen and noncitizen alike. The removal of these American children is not only illegal, it is cruel. It inflicts the same lasting trauma that we have witnessed countless times on the faces and in the words of immigrant children we represent who are detained in deplorable conditions by the federal government. At Children’s Rights, we fight every day to ensure that systems designed to protect children do no harm. This betrayal by our immigration system is a clear and urgent reminder: we must hold the government accountable for the safety, and dignity of every child — without exception.”
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ABOUT CHILDREN’S RIGHTS
Children’s Rights is a national advocacy organization dedicated to improving the lives of children living in or impacted by America’s child welfare, juvenile legal, immigration, education, and healthcare systems. We use civil rights impact litigation, advocacy and policy expertise, and public education to hold governments accountable for keeping kids safe and healthy. Our work centers on creating lasting systemic change that will advance the rights of children for generations. For more information, please visit childrensrights.org.