What is happening with migrant children at the Border?
The first step to help migrant children at the border is to understand why they have left the only home they have ever known. In recent months, thousands of unaccompanied migrant children have arrived at our southern border seeking protection from the violence, climate disaster, and extreme poverty that have ravaged Central America. Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service is urgently working with our network of service partners, community groups, and volunteers to address the critical needs of these children and work to reunite them with a family member here in the United States.
As a person of good will, we know you are here to learn more about how you can partner with LIRS, answer the call to serve, and join LIRS’s long legacy of providing protection and welcome to unaccompanied migrant children at the border and beyond.
HOW YOU CAN HELP MIGRANT CHILDREN & FAMILIES
Download the Toolkit
Children at the border, like all children, deserve love, safety, and support, and we ask you to join us in celebrating their safety and welcoming them into our country and our community. We invite you to download our Hope for the Southern Border Toolkit, which shares more about how you can get involved.
ACT: Become a Foster Parent
Foster families are urgently needed to support the increase of unaccompanied migrant children coming to the United States. We ask that you and your family consider this opportunity to serve and help migrant children in need of a loving home until they can be reunited with their U.S. sponsor.
DONATE: Support the Work of LIRS
Your donation is an act of service. Your support directly helps LIRS and our partners as we work quickly to unite children with their families and ensure that they have what they need to begin their lives in the U.S. Your support helps us protect and welcome these children, as well as provide access to critical services including educational opportunities, medical and mental healthcare services, and access to legal service providers.
ADVOCATE: Call your Government Representatives
Your advocacy communicates to our nation’s leaders that the communities they represent stand with migrants and refugees. Recently, Senator Menendez (D-NJ) and Rep. Sanchez (D-CA) introduced the US Citizenship Act of 2021, President Biden’s groundbreaking immigration reform proposal. The plan addresses key areas of immigration law that have not been addressed in decades.
Among its many provisions, it improves the family reunification process by reducing visa backlogs and creates a pathway to earned citizenship for approximately 11 million immigrants in the country without legal status.
The passing of this act would assist and protect unaccompanied children who are coming to the United States seeking safety by re-starting the Central American Minors (CAM) program. This program allows children in Central America to apply from their home country for re-unification with their parent or relative with legal status in the U.S. and avoid the long, dangerous journey to the border. More on CAM.
By emailing or calling your representative in Congress, you are raising your voice in support of unaccompanied children and their families.
PRAY: Pray for Migrant Children and Families
In times of trial, faith plays an important role in finding hope. Migrant children and families are our fellow children of God, and it is our sacred calling to welcome the stranger in need. Please check out our Prayer Hub, a place for people of faith to honor the journey of our migrant and refugee brothers and sisters.
TEACH: Educate Your Community About Our Immigration System
The situation at our southern border, and our immigration system more broadly, is complex and changing rapidly. We invite you to share resources such as this with friends, family, congregations, and community members to help migrant children and spread awareness of the challenges facing unaccompanied children and how we all can help.
Step One
Watch the Webinar we just hosted, where our experts cover this urgent situation.
Step Two
Check out our FAQ to learn more about the situation at the border and better understand how we got here.
Thank you for standing with LIRS in our efforts to protect and care for children and families at our border.