Contact: Katy Green
Phone: 650.464.1545
Email: [email protected]
Washington, DC – The increased numbers of children fleeing violence in Central America and seeking refuge in nearby countries, including the United States, has become a humanitarian issue that requires an international, holistic, and caring response.
On Friday, Vice President Joe Biden will travel to Guatemala and meet with this country’s president, as well as senior officials from Honduras and El Salvador, to discuss this situation and appropriate actions to be taken on all sides. On Thursday, June 19th at 12:30pm ET, human rights, immigration policy, and legal experts will gather on a press call to explain the factors that are driving children to leave their home countries, and what steps the international community can take to resolve the situation comprehensively. They will also assess the United States’ response to date and lay out recommendations for how the Obama Administration should handle this situation so that children are cared for, have access to international protection, and have safe and secure options back in their home countries.
WHO:
Moderator:
Kevin Appleby, Director of Migration Policy, U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops
Speakers:
Michelle Brané, Director of Migrant Rights and Justice, Women’s Refugee Commission
Juan Sheenan, Country Representative in Honduras, Catholic Relief Services
Wendy Young, President, Kids in Need of Defense (KIND)
WHEN:
Thursday, June 19th
12:30pm ET
WHERE:
Dial-in Number: 866-952-7523
Passcode: CHILDREN
RESOURCES:
- Philip E. Wolgin and Angela Maria Kelley, “5 Things You Need to Know About Unaccompanied Children,” Center for American Progress, June 18, 2014.
- UNHCR, “Children on the Run,” May 2014
- UC Hastings and KIND, “A Treacherous Journey: Child Migrants Navigating the U.S. Immigration System.” February 2014
- WOLA, “Mexico’s Other Border, “Security Migration, and the Humanitarian Crisis At the Line with Central America.”
- Women’s Refugee Commission, “Forced From Home: The Lost Boys and Girls of Central America.”
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