Know Your Rights: Safeguarding Immigrant Youth

Immigrant and refugee support

County of Los Angeles (select only if your project has a countywide benefit)

Pilot or new project, program, or initiative (testing or implementing a new idea)

Unaccompanied children are an at-risk population in LA. After fleeing abandonment and persecution in their home countries, their safety depends on protection from deportation and on the new lives they establish with adult sponsors (usually parents or relatives) in the U.S.
Two factors increased the risk for these children in 2025. First, federal funding for their legal representation is set to expire in September. Without a trained attorney to represent them, children and young adults must represent themselves alone before an immigration judge, often in a language that they do not understand. Immigrant youth also risk family separation if their households are targeted for immigration enforcement. Since April, Homeland Security agents have been conducting unannounced visits at homes and schools of immigrant children in the guise of checking on their wellness. This causes fear and anxiety for immigrant youth, who are unsure how to respond and risk being torn apart from their families.

To safeguard more than 800 immigrant youth represented by ICWC attorneys (over 400 of them in LA), our team recently launched a project so that children, young adults, and their families know how to respond if they encounter ICE or other federal enforcement agents. 
This initiative has three goals: 
That children and their guardians know their rights if approached by ICE or other federal agents (e.g., the right to remain silent; the right to demand a warrant before opening the door; and the right to contact their attorney);
That they receive practical coaching on how to respond to an ICE encounter or unannounced check-ins by Homeland Security;
That they are equipped with documentation to support their case if ICE attempts to detain them or one of their household members. This includes "Do Not Detain Me" letters, which include information and updated documents about the client's pending immigration case.
Our team will help these children and their adult sponsors develop safety plans in case someone in their family is detained. This important step ensures that children continue to receive care and have safe emergency contacts if they cannot contact their adult caregiver. This also helps families talk through critical next steps if someone in their household is detained or deported. (For example: Where will the child(ren) live? Will they have access to vital services such as medical care and education? Who can they reach out to for transportation and childcare, if needed?)

If successful, this project will mitigate the debilitating impacts of fear, trauma, and potential family separation among LA County's immigrant communities. At a time when immigrant youth and their adult caregivers are terrified of being targeted or even separated from their families by immigration enforcement, our work will provide a degree of reassurance and empowerment. By preventing enforcement actions, this work will foster stability within family units, which is crucial for healthy development and emotional wellbeing of children. 
Immigrants who know their rights and have access to representation also benefit from better outcomes in immigration court. As a result, this project will help immigrant families avoid deportation and assert their right to due process. With legal protection from deportation, immigrant youth and their family members can continue to work, attend school, and be active participants in their communities.