New approach needed to ensure the protection and care of unaccompanied migrant children in the United States

UNICEF Releases Report – “Building Bridges for Every Child: Reception, Care and Services to Support Unaccompanied Children in the US”

NEW YORK, February 26, 2021 – A new approach is needed to ensure that unaccompanied migrant and asylum seekers in the United States receive adequate reception, care and support services, UNICEF announced today.

The announcement came when the UN Children’s Agency released a new report – “Building Bridges for Every Child: Reception, Care, and Services to Support Unaccompanied Children in the United States” – that includes recommendations for the care and support of any migrant child, regardless their story, where they were born or why they arrived unaccompanied.

“Thousands of unaccompanied migrants and asylum-seeking children travel to the US every year. Many are fleeing violence and devastating poverty or hoping to reunite with family members,” said Sanjay Wijesekera, director of UNICEF’s programs department. “These children are full of hope and potential, but they are among the most vulnerable in the world. Our report includes a roadmap showing how the US government and its partners can draw on experience in the US and around the world to develop a long-term vision for the reception, care, and protection of unaccompanied children. “

Providing child-appropriate and appropriate reception and care for the large and growing numbers of children on the move around the world, especially those who are unaccompanied or separated from their parents or primary carers, is a global concern and a priority for UNICEF . In January 2020, UNICEF and UNICEF USA (a US-based company) jointly launched the Building Bridges Initiative to bring the worlds of international rights and protection of children, immigration and child welfare in the US together. The initiative combines UNICEF’s global know-how with UNICEF USA’s unique experience in promoting and raising awareness of global child protection needs in the US context.

The United States has a long tradition of providing refuge to children in need and working to ensure that children are given protective family care. This new report and its recommendations are in line with recent moves by the US government to hold together priority families seeking asylum. The results of the report can help advance the development of a more child-sensitive system that builds on the strengths of the US system and addresses the known challenges.

This report encourages U.S. politicians and practitioners to build on this tradition by providing equal levels of care and protection to migrants and asylum-seeking children. It also urges governments to end child detention and expand family and community reception, care and support services for children in the US and across the region.

Building Bridgesseeks focuses on practical solutions and promising practices in the US and around the world to connect the worlds of international rights and child protection, immigration and domestic child welfare. It shows how the reception, care and care of unaccompanied migrant children in the US and across the region can be built around the best interests of every child.

The report follows the journey of children traveling alone from North Central America to the US – they step in, navigate, and leave the US reception and care system and switch to community life.

“Gang violence, blackmail, endemic poverty and a lack of learning and earning opportunities are part of everyday life for millions of children and families in North Central America,” said Wijesekera. “The COVID-19 pandemic and recent natural disasters, including Hurricanes Eta and Iota, have made conditions more difficult. It is for this reason that we are calling for safe and legal ways for children to seek protection and reunite with their families in the United States to be expanded. “

* Building bridges * contains eight overarching policy recommendations:

1. Respect all children’s rights of access to protection, asylum, residence and reunification with family members, while respecting public health precautions. This includes ending setbacks and forced evictions of all children without due process.
2. Strengthening child-sensitive border and reception processes.
3. Prioritizing family and community care and case management as an alternative to immigrant detention and institutional care.
4. Ensure inclusion, non-discrimination and equity in care, and strengthen the links between the Unaccompanied Children Program and other child programs overseen by the U.S. Department of Health (HHS / ACF) to ensure consistent standards of care and protection.
5. Establish best interests as a core component of the system for unaccompanied children and ensure that each unaccompanied child is appointed as an independent child advocate.
6. Help each child participate in all affairs that affect them, including making decisions about placement, care and access to services, based on the child’s age and maturity.
7. Scale post-discharge services, case management, and integrated support to provide ongoing care for each unaccompanied child as they transition to families and local communities. Make sure that every unaccompanied child has access to free legal representation during the immigration process.
8. Ensuring child-sensitive return and reintegration support for every child for whom return to their country of origin is safe and in their best interests.

Media contacts

Christopher Tidey
UNICEF New York Tel: +1 917 340 3017 Email: [email protected]