Neha Desai, Managing Director of Children’s Human Rights & Dignity at the National Center for Youth Law (NCYL), testified on March 27, 2026, at a shadow hearing led by U.S. Representative Pramila Jayapal (WA-07), Ranking Member of the Immigration Integrity, Security, and Enforcement Subcommittee, titled “Kidnapped and Disappeared: Trump’s Attack on Our Children.”

Neha, who leads NCYL’s immigration work, provided expert testimony on the conditions and legal protections for accompanied and unaccompanied children held in federal immigration custody. She described how children in immigration detention already face insufficient legal safeguards, prolonged separation from family members, and systemic barriers to safety and care, and the ways that recent federal actions are further weakening limited protections.