Statement on Recent Immigration Policy Changes, March 2025
On Friday, March 21, 2025, The Door was notified of an immediate, near-total termination of services under the Unaccompanied Children Program—a contract that has historically accounted for 70% of The Door’s Legal Services Center funding. This contract affects more than 26,000 children and young people across the country, including hundreds of young people served by The Door.
The Door stands with young people, no matter who they are or where they are from. Since January, the federal administration has made significant efforts to remove and alienate young people who arrive in our city and country in search of safety, protection, and a better future. On Friday, March 21, 2025, the federal administration halted and defunded legal support work for unaccompanied minors and undocumented immigrants, affecting more than 26,000 children and young people across the country and impacting up to 70% of all funding for The Door’s Legal Services Center. These misguided efforts are not only a violation of fundamental human rights but also an affront to the core values of justice and compassion that this country—and The Door—were built upon.
Unaccompanied minors—children and teenagers who arrive in our city and our country alone and looking for a better future—deserve the full protection of the law, including access to free legal support like the services offered by The Door. Denying them this right is illegal as well as inhumane. These children are often fleeing violence, persecution, abandonment, and unimaginable hardship. These efforts serve only to perpetuate fear, harm, and suffering, not only for the young people seeking refuge but for our society as a whole.
The Door remains committed to providing vital legal support and advocacy to young people—new New Yorkers, unaccompanied minors, and all those seeking protection—ensuring they are not silenced or left behind. We call on the administration to abandon these harmful policies and instead focus on solutions that promote justice, dignity, and respect for all people, especially the most vulnerable among us.
We will not allow the legal needs of these young people to be ignored or denied. The pursuit of justice should not be negotiable.
Join us and make a difference.
Donate to The Door, support our Legal Services Center by joining us on Thursday, April 3, at Joining in Justice, and speak out against injustices in your community.
