Panel Discussion on Preventing and Understanding Human Trafficking of Youth with Vania Aguilar

Panel Discussion on Labor Trafficking in Florida with Terry Coonan

Ms. Vania Aguilar, program manager for The Center, was a panelist on an International Rescue Committee discussion on the Prevention and Understanding of Human Trafficking of the Youth.

Mr. Terry Coonan, director at The Center, was also a panelist during an International Rescue Committee discussion on Labor Trafficking in Florida.

The International Rescue Committee has an office in Tallahassee, please explore their website, IRC Tallahassee Website

A federal judge on Friday ordered the Trump administration to fully restore an Obama-era program designed to shield young, undocumented immigrants from deportation, dealing what could be a final blow to President Trump’s long-fought effort to end the protections.

Judge Nicholas G. Garaufis of the U.S. District Court in Brooklyn directed the administration on Friday to allow newly eligible immigrants to file new applications for protection under the program, reversing a memorandum issued in the summer by Chad Wolf, the acting secretary of Homeland Security, which restricted the program to people who were already enrolled. As many as 300,000 new applicants could now be eligible, according to the lawyers who pushed for the reinstatement.

The memo from the Department of Homeland Security also limited benefits under the program, including permits to work, to one year, but the judge ordered the government to restore them to a full two years. Judge Garaufis, who was appointed by President Bill Clinton, also said the government must find a way to contact all immigrants who are eligible for the program to inform them of the change.

As the world recognizes International Human Rights Day Thursday, the Center for the Advancement of Human Rights at Florida State University is in the midst of commemorating its own milestone — its 20th anniversary.

Twenty years ago, funds from an anonymous donor helped found the center. From those beginnings steeped in anonymity, the center’s work is now known around the world.

It has become a resource for state, federal and international policymakers looking to bolster human rights laws, such as those surrounding human trafficking. And center staff and students play an integral role in helping victims of human rights violations both in the United States and across the globe rebuild their lives.