In August, our friends at Manzanita House saw a book display at the Central Library that featured stories written by and about immigrants and refugees, including works by Thi Bui, Viet Nguyen, Luis Urrea, and Yuyi Morales. They loved seeing these stories centered and offered brochures and pamphlets for us to share with the public.
Spokane Public Library is all about connecting people with resources, and Manzanita House is a precious resource here in Spokane. Their mission is to “welcome and equip immigrants with tools, resources, and connections to achieve equity here in the Inland Northwest.” They offer legal services, community engagement, language education, and more. They can also help with issues involving Washington State SNAP and food benefits.
As they say on their website, Manzanita House is “rooted in welcome.” We here in library land love this phrase.
We’ve invited the wonderful staff at Manzanita House to be guest writers for us this month, and they’ve written an illuminating article on the unaccompanied immigrant children they continue to serve in Spokane. They’ve also provided a booklist, all titles you can check out from Spokane Public Library.
We love that this connection began with books—listening to and appreciating one another’s stories will always connect us. Thank you, Manzanita House, for serving our communities so beautifully.
A Safe Place to Land: Supporting Unaccompanied Immigrant Children in Spokane
by the staff of Manzanita House
Most of us could agree that safety is a human right—especially when it comes to children.
When safety isn’t possible at home, children sometimes make impossible choices—leaving behind the people and places they love in search of protection. Many find that new beginning right here in Spokane.
Unaccompanied minors are immigrant children under the age of 18 who arrive in the United States without the support of a parent or legal guardian and without any kind of legal status. These children come to the United States for many different reasons—often because their lives are in danger due to violence and abuse. Sometimes an unaccompanied minor comes to the U.S. because their family is unable to provide them with adequate food or shelter— other times they come to reunite with relatives or to flee gang violence.
Upon arrival in the U.S., unaccompanied children are processed by immigration officials and placed with the Office of Refugee Resettlement before being released. Once released, they are some of the most vulnerable immigrants in our community—putting them in a position to face a high risk of trafficking. Historically, the U.S. would reliably fund legal service providers to help ensure representation for as many youths as possible but under the current administration this is no longer the case.
Accessible legal support is essential for helping unaccompanied children navigate an immigration system so complex it challenges even U.S.-born adults. Children with legal representation are granted relief in 73% of cases—compared to just 15% without—making them nearly five times more likely to find protection and remain safely in the United States.
At Manzanita House we currently provide legal services for 16 unaccompanied minors in our community. Recently, one of our unaccompanied minor clients was detained during a routine Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) check-in. Thanks to having legal representation—and to our attorney’s calm and informed quick action—the client was released within just eight hours, avoiding transfer to Tacoma.
Now, more than ever, legal aid is a critical resource for our immigrant community— particularly unaccompanied immigrant children. At Manzanita House, our goal is to provide these young clients with free legal aid services, helping them begin a safe and stable life in Spokane and beyond—something that all children deserve.
In honor of those who’ve made, and are in the process of, a journey to seek safety and belonging, including the more than 25,000 immigrants living in our community, we’d love to suggest reading the following immigrant-centered books—all of which are available at Spokane Public Library or Auntie’s Books:
Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Everyone Who is Gone is Here by Jonathan Blitzer
Illegal by Eoin Colfer and Andrew Donkin
Signs Preceding the End of the World by Yuri Herrera, Translated by Lisa Dillman
Solito by Javier Zamora
Solito, Solita: Crossing Borders with Youth Refugees from Central America by Stevens Mayers and Jonathan Freedman
The Boy who Tried to Shrink his Name by Sandha Parappukkaran, Illustrated by Michelle Pereira
The Next Great Migration by Sonia Shah
