In October 2025, the Gault Center convened over three hundred youth defense lawyers and advocates at our annual Youth Defender Leadership Summit. Together, we practiced the cultivation of community in service of building a more just, more liberated, and more human humanity for all children and for us all. This resource captures the shared learnings…
“SIJS is a unique form of immigration relief, offering young people who have been “abandoned, abused, or neglected” by a parent an opportunity to become lawful permanent residents. This means that a young person can apply for a green card, employment authorization, and some public benefits, with an eventual pathway to U.S. citizenship. Youth defenders…
