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Innovating Protection for Children on the Move Across the Americas

October 3, 2022

During spring 2022, the Innovating Protection for Children on the Move Across the Americas forum brought a child-focused and solutions-oriented lens to the dynamic landscape of migration between countries of origin and return, the U.S.-Mexico border, and within receiving communities across the United States.

Hundreds of thousands of children are leaving their homes, either with family members or on their own, experiencing internal displacement and attempting to cross borders throughout the Americas. In addition to those fleeing northern Central America—El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras account for some of the highest rates of homicide and gender-based violence in the world—vulnerable populations throughout the region also bear the brunt of climate-induced disasters, food insecurity, extreme poverty, and crime. Some come from countries as far away as Africa and Asia and hope to cross the U.S.-Mexico border. Many have experienced abuse, exploitation, detention, deprivation, and discrimination along their migration journeys.

Efforts to respond appropriately to migrant and asylum-seeking children and families require innovative thinking and collaborative action. Young people who have lived the migration experience and those who have helped them navigate risk and find protection along the way must inform and guide the response. Those closest to the challenges are also closest to the solutions, yet these perspectives are rarely prioritized.

Immigration policy garners a great deal of attention and engenders much debate, much of which is rarely child-centered. The predominant focus of conversations around immigration policy and response is border enforcement. What happens when the focus shifts and migration is considered from the lens of the children, families, and communities most impacted? What if we rethink migration from the perspective of a whole child on a whole migration journey and prioritize what that child might need before the migration journey begins, along the way, and upon arrival in destination or return communities?

During spring 2022, the Innovating Protection for Children on the Move Across the Americas forum brought a child-focused and solutions-oriented lens to the dynamic landscape of migration between countries of origin and return, the U.S.-Mexico border, and within receiving communities across the United States.

"Shifting from a focus on risks and deficits towards strengths-based solutions engages young people, families, communities, and other stakeholders to identify what works, helping actors build capacity and approaches that are likely to enhance cross-system collaboration to support children and families and promote their resilience and well-being."
— Gillian Huebner

Convened by Georgetown University’s Collaborative on Global Children’s Issues, the Institute for the Study of International Migration, and the Georgetown Americas Institute, in coordination with strategic partners, the forum included a three-part webinar series and blog posts that centered the perspectives of young people who have experienced migration and stakeholders working along the migratory route in various capacities and sectors. The initiative identified protective factors and responses enhancing child-sensitive policies, strategic investments, and collaborative partnerships across borders as well as here in the United States.

The forum was conceived and planned by a collaborative design team comprised of thought leaders from Georgetown University, UNICEF, the Global Fund for Children, and two migrant youth-serving organizations in the DC metro area, Identity and Imagination Stage. The team worked together to ensure the conversation incorporated a variety of perspectives, including those of young people who’ve migrated, programmatic actors, faith-based organizations, policymakers, researchers and other stakeholders.

Each webinar began and ended with reflections from young people who have lived the migration experience. In order to honor their stories while also protecting their identities, the forum incorporated scenes from Óyeme (“hear me” in Spanish), a play that was created by Imagination Stage with young people who journeyed from northern Central America to the DC metro area [1]. The webinar conversations closed with recorded stories shared by migrant and asylum-seeking youth who recently arrived in the United States [2].

The forum did not seek to put forward definitive recommendations but rather to expand the conversation to include perspectives that are often left out. Effective programmatic and policy responses to children on the move must be attuned to the lived experiences of those who have migrated. They are the primary experts. 

We are grateful for the more than 60 stakeholders who contributed to the webinars and blog series. To date, approximately 600 people have tuned into the webinars, and the blog posts have been accessed over 500 times.

Key Takeaways

  • Migration is an innovative response to ineffective systems. When government services and civil society responses do not adequately protect young people and families from violence, extreme poverty, and food insecurity, migration within and across borders is a natural response to ameliorate untenable circumstances.​
  • Adversity and resilience coexist. Children experiencing migration are extraordinarily vulnerable, but they also demonstrate tremendous resilience, developing skills to navigate complexity and hardship. Their assets should be recognized by all stakeholders.
  • Young people are part of the solution. Children and youth need to be engaged as partners in problem-solving. Their involvement in the development of programmatic and policy responses to the issues that affect them lead to more appropriate and sustainable responses. Creating opportunities for young people to share their views and experiences is not only good policy—it is critical to their resilience.
  • Language matters. There is often a disconnect between the language used in policy and program response and that which is understood and communicated by young people who have lived the migration experience. For example, “migration” is not a word used among Indigenous communities in Guatemala. “Irregular migration” does not reflect the reality of communities where migration is an inevitable constant. “Smuggling” is understood as a criminal concept by law enforcement agencies but a means of protection for persons with limited rights and opportunities.
  • It is possible to reframe the problem and the response. The dominant discourse around migration centers on law enforcement and border security. Children’s best interests are often a secondary consideration. Policies and funding could be shifted to prioritize coordinated child-sensitive approaches in countries of origin, along the migratory route, and in destination communities.

Part I: Innovating Protection for Children at Risk in the Americas

Webinar: March 30, 2022

Young people who embark on a migration journey do so for a variety of reasons. Some are fleeing violence and crime; others have been facing climate-induced disasters, food insecurity, and extreme poverty. Drivers may differ depending on area of origin, gender, and ethnicity. An overarching commonality, however, is age. Across the Americas, being young is the strongest predictor of an intention to migrate.

Colorful mural of a woman and baby in Central America, courtesy of Flickr user Fabrice Florin.

Hundreds of thousands of children are leaving their homes, either with family members or on their own, experiencing internal displacement and attempting to cross borders throughout the Americas. What the decision to leave home mean for children and youth? To what extent do the approaches of national and international governments and partners prioritize the perceptions and needs of young people who are inclined to migrate? What efforts are underway to help children and families feel rooted and safe in their communities of origin, before the migration journey begins? 

As various stakeholders seek to address root causes of migration, it is important to consider what the decision to leave home means for children and youth. The first webinar and blog series addressed the extent to which the approaches of national and international governments and partners prioritize the perceptions and needs of young people who are inclined to migrate. Contributors reflected on efforts to help children and families feel rooted and safe in their communities of origin, before the migration journey begins.

Óyeme: Imagination Stage on Innovating Protection for Children at Risk in the Americas.

In this short scene from Óyeme, Laura and her grandmother talk about the violence in their community in Honduras and Laura's plan to migrate to the United States to reunify with her mother.

Participant Interventions

Centering Indigeneity

Migration from Guatemala to the United States has risen dramatically in recent years, most of it stemming from poor, rural areas in the Western Highlands. The majority of children currently crossing the U.S.-Mexico border unaccompanied are from Guatemala, and many are Indigenous Mayans. Migration has become an increasingly common pathway for these young people to escape extreme poverty and food insecurity, but it also exposes them to other risks, including separation from their families, Indigenous identity, and culture.

Juan José Hurtado is the executive director of Asociación Pop No’j in Guatemala, which focuses on protecting the rights and culture of the Mayan people, particularly in the context of migration. “We cannot talk about Indigenous peoples in Guatemala without considering migration,” said Hurtado.

“Indigenous peoples have a different way of understanding migration. In Mayan languages, migration doesn’t exist as a word. We speak about ‘the traveler’ or ‘the walker.’ Let’s also remember that borders were not created by Indigenous people. They were imposed on us… Mayan communities have been separated by imposed borders.” – Juan José Hurtado
“Indigenous peoples have a different way of understanding migration. In Mayan languages, migration doesn’t exist as a word. We speak about ‘the traveler’ or ‘the walker.’ Let’s also remember that borders were not created by Indigenous people. They were imposed on us… Mayan communities have been separated by imposed borders.” – Juan José Hurtado

Pop No’j recognizes that Indigenous migration is an inevitable result of desperate conditions in communities of origin. It is forced displacement caused by extreme poverty, with origins in colonization. “No one leaves their home because they want to… If there is no hope, the alternative is migration. Migration will not stop until the conditions that force people to leave change.” The organization is committed to the right of Indigenous peoples to stay, to migrate, and to return to communities of origin with dignity. Pop No’j accompanies children and young people in communities of origin, prior to migration and upon return, providing humanitarian aid, legal assistance, access to education and vocational training, and psychosocial and family reintegration support. Hurtado underscored that Indigenous identity, languages, and culture are protective factors that must be recognized and attended to at all stages of the migration journey.

Related Blog Posts

Interrupting Violence

In Honduras, boys and girls experience unacceptably high levels of physical and sexual violence. In 2019, the government of Honduras launched the Violence Against Children and Youth Survey, the first of its kind in Latin America. The report included groundbreaking information on the intersections of violence against children–and the impact on migration. Mark Connolly, the UNICEF representative in Honduras, noted that “it is impossible to reduce migration without reducing violence.” In 2021, Honduras launched a National Action Plan to End Violence Against Children, an innovation at the policy level.

“When it comes to violence against children, there’s often not a lot of innovation. Historically, in the region, it has been ‘do anything and call it preventing violence’ but without measuring whether you’ve actually prevented any violence at all.” – Mark Connolly
“When it comes to violence against children, there’s often not a lot of innovation. Historically, in the region, it has been ‘do anything and call it preventing violence’ but without measuring whether you’ve actually prevented any violence at all.” – Mark Connolly

Connolly discussed efforts to develop a contextualized strategy for the interruption of homicide, femicide, and gender-based violence in 25 communities within the four most violent cities in Honduras. Working in partnership with Cure Violence, which uses a public health approach to preventing violence, the strategy focuses on strengthening the capacities of community-based organizations to identify risk factors and apply techniques to stop violence and prevent deaths by changing social norms and deescalating conflicts through cooperation, youth participation, and community mobilization. In 2021, the violence interruption model resolved nearly 4,000 community conflicts related to abuse, sexual exploitation and harassment, death threats, kidnappings, exploitation of girls and women, forced displacement, drug trafficking, and domestic violence. Without the interventions these conflicts may have resulted in femicides, homicides, and other serious crimes.

Related Blog Posts
A visual interpretation of the first webinar "Innovating Protection for Children at Risk in the Americas" done by Visualmente.

The left box is titled, “Centering Indigenous Perspectives”. The first row has the words, “Increased Migration from Guatemala to USA” with the image of an arrow. The second row has two figures with outstretched arms above the words, “Forced to Migrate Because”. Below is the word, “Poverty”, next to an image of a coin, the words, “Food Security”, next to the image of a carrot, and the word, “Violence” next to the image of a fist. To the right are the words, “From Rural Areas” next to an image of a young person with a backpack and a speech bubble that says, “Many are Indigenous Mayans”. To the right are the words, “Risks”, “Separation”, “Their Families”, “Culture”, and “Identity” next to images of an adult reaching for a child and a broken scarf. The third row has the words, “No One Leaves Their Home Because They Want to” and “Migration has been Imposed on Indigenous Peoples” next to an image of two hands pushing a woman with braids.

The right box is titled, “Preventing Violence Against Children”. The first row has the words, “Honduran Government” and “2019 End Violence Against Children and Youth Survey” next to the image of a fist and a no symbol. To the right are the words, “Became”, “Two Years Later”, “National Plan”, and “Groundbreaking Information on the Intersection of Violence and Migration” next to the images of the outline of the country of Honduras and three documents. The second row has the words, “There is No Protection without Strengthening Protective Environments in Community” next to the image of two figures surrounded by four other figures with outstretched arms. The third row has the words, “Reducing Violence” and “Cure Violence” next to a downward pointing graph. “The fourth row has the words, “Prevention with Public Health Approach” next to the image of the outside of an emergency department. To the right are the words, “Engaging Perpetrators” next to the image of a figure with a large hand and the words, “Moving Women and Children to Safe Locations” next to an image of two hands surrounding two figures. The fifth row has the words, “Impossible to Reduce Migration Without Reducing Violence”.

Coordinating Faith-based Responses for Child Protection

For many young people on the move, faith is an important protective factor. Working with faith actors and utilizing faith-sensitive approaches to child protection is particularly fundamental in the Americas, where faith-based groups are often frontline responders.

“Faith communities have a role to play in contributing to the comprehensive development of children, including their spiritual well-being, an important protective factor for children facing adversity and violence.” – Luciano Cadoni
“Faith communities have a role to play in contributing to the comprehensive development of children, including their spiritual well-being, an important protective factor for children facing adversity and violence.” – Luciano Cadoni

The Alliance for the Protection of the Children is a multifaith and multi-country coalition of over 55 faith-based organizations and religious communities. It was created in 2017 to protect children on the move and other vulnerable children from violence, trafficking, gang recruitment, and organized crime. The work of the alliance addresses several of the root causes of migration and poverty with a geographical focus in Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Mexico. The alliance recognizes and supports the role of faith actors in reducing risk factors that lead to the development of violent behavior in children or make it easier for them to get involved with or become victims of criminal groups. It works to increase protective factors, such as healthy lifestyles and environments, psychosocial services, as well as spiritual development. The alliance also aims to foster resilience in communities affected by violence.

Related Blog Post

Strengthening National and Regional Protection Systems

While migration of young Central Americans across borders has received considerable attention, those who have been forced from their homes due to violence, extreme poverty, or national disasters and remain within the borders of their countries are largely invisible, despite their growing numbers.

“Ensuring that internally displaced people (IDPs) are protected and assisted at home, and that they’re able to either return home or safely settle elsewhere in the country–this is fundamentally the responsibility of governments… In looking for innovative ways to support displaced children at risk, I want to highlight the public policies that are starting to be established throughout northern Central American countries. This is new territory for all of them.” – María Eugenia Brizuela de Ávila
“Ensuring that internally displaced people (IDPs) are protected and assisted at home, and that they’re able to either return home or safely settle elsewhere in the country–this is fundamentally the responsibility of governments… In looking for innovative ways to support displaced children at risk, I want to highlight the public policies that are starting to be established throughout northern Central American countries. This is new territory for all of them.” – María Eugenia Brizuela de Ávila

María Eugenia Brizuela de Ávila, El Salvador’s minister of foreign affairs from 1999 to 2004, shared examples of new policies to address the needs of internally displaced populations across the region. In El Salvador, for instance, the Legislative Assembly passed the Special Law for the Care and Integral Protection of Victims of Violence in Conditions of Forced Displacement in January 2020. The law, the result of years of civil society activism, is aligned with the UN Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement and other international standards that establish the rights of displaced people, including the right to request and receive humanitarian assistance, protection of the family unit, an adequate standard of living, and long-term solutions. According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the law will positively impact tens of thousands of people who have been forced to flee their homes because of gangs and organized crime.

El Salvador’s 2020 law reflects growing momentum across the region to recognize and respond to the phenomenon of internal displacement. In Honduras, where approximately 250,000 people have been displaced by violence, the National Congress is considering similar legislation as well as a penal code that would punish those who cause forced displacement due to violence and intimidation. Mexico is also developing legal frameworks to protect internally displaced populations. The Comprehensive Regional Protection and Solutions Framework seeks to address forced displacement from a regional perspective, incorporating countries of origin, destination, and transit and working with a wide range of stakeholders to create a comprehensive and sustainable approach. It lists a number of actions and best practices in four areas: reception and admission measures; support for immediate and ongoing needs; support for host countries and communities; and enhanced opportunities for durable solutions.

Related Blog Post

Considering the Role of U.S. Foreign Assistance

Nikki Enersen, the Children, Youth and Families Team Lead at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) highlighted three new policies that guide U.S. government foreign assistance and the agency’s response in northern Central America: the U.S. Strategy for Addressing the Root Causes of Migration in Central America, USAID’s Local Capacity Development Policy, and the recently revised Youth in Development Policy.

“I want to highlight the importance of including child protection, family strengthening, and positive youth development in this work, which is focused on increasing well-being and reducing migration. This is especially true for any efforts to reintegrate returned youth and children. Our efforts to improve well-being must look not only at the needs of an individual, but also the family unit and the needs of the parents in relationship to the children.” – Nikki Enersen
“I want to highlight the importance of including child protection, family strengthening, and positive youth development in this work, which is focused on increasing well-being and reducing migration. This is especially true for any efforts to reintegrate returned youth and children. Our efforts to improve well-being must look not only at the needs of an individual, but also the family unit and the needs of the parents in relationship to the children.” – Nikki Enersen

In accordance with these strategic documents, in November 2021, USAID launched a five-year, $300 million initiative, Centroamérica Local, to empower local organizations in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras to address the drivers of irregular migration to the United States and advance the Biden-Harris administration’s Root Causes Strategy. The strategy acknowledges that irregular migration from Central America is the result of a complex interrelated system of factors, focusing on short- and long-term impediments to peaceful, prosperous and stable communities. It aims to reduce poverty by creating jobs and training youth for these opportunities–addressing both supply and demand. It seeks to improve citizen security and anti-gang activities by improving transparency and equity in governance and addressing community violence. USAID programs also focus on broader issues, including climate change, gender, and ethnic inequalities, all of which contribute to the decision many make to seek safety and economic stability elsewhere. USAID’s objectives in Central America include increasing opportunities and improving well-being for marginalized citizens who do not feel that they are able to live their best lives at home. This involves making real change in development outcomes as well as in the perceptions of well-being. [3]

Samantha Power, administrator of USAID, speaking at Georgetown University.

In her November 4 remarks at Georgetown University commemorating the sixtieth anniversary of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), Administrator Samantha Power announced a five-year, $300 million initiative, Centroamérica Local, to empower local organizations in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras to address the drivers of irregular migration to the United States and advance the Biden-Harris administration’s Root Causes Strategy. In her address, Administrator Power urged us to amplify the local voices of those who too often have been left out of the conversation: “Local voices need to be at the center of everything we do… We‘ve got to tap into the knowledge of local communities, and their lived-experiences. Otherwise, we risk reinforcing the systemic inequities that are already in place.” 

Related Blog Posts
An image of a child standing in a field with the following text overlayed: "In Their Own Words: Listen to the words of three young people who left their home countries in northern Central America for various reasons."

The stories in this audio clip were shared by migrant and asylum-seeking youth who recently arrived in the United States. Their stories are narrated here by voice actors to protect their identity. The recordings were produced as a collaboration between Imagination Stage’s Theatre for Change program and Identity, a community-based organization that works with thousands of Latino and other underserved young people in Montgomery County, Maryland. Listen to In Their Own Words.

A visual interpretation of the first webinar "Innovating Protection for Children at Risk in the Americas" done by Visualmente.

On the first row of the top left box there is an image of the Christian cross next to the words “Faith is a Key Protective Factor”. Next to this are the words “For Many Young People on the Move for Adversity and Violence” alongside the image of a young person running from three bullets and saying, “God Protect Me!” To the right are the words “3 Strategies” and “One: Reduce the Development of Violent Behaviors in Children that Lead to Criminal Groups”. There is an image of fire extinguisher and angry faces. The second row has the words “Alliance 55 Orgs and Religious Communities for Children on the Move and Vulnerability to Protect” next to an image of a church, two figures, and outstretched hands. To the right are the words, “Violence”, “Trafficking”, Gang recruitment”, and “Organized crime”. To the right are the words, “Two: Increase Protective and Resilience Factors” next to two shapes. The third row has the words “Groups of Children at High Risk of Being Recruiting or Victims of Criminal Groups” next to the images of a hand and fast. Next to this are the words “Living in Communities Controlled by Gangs” alongside an image of a young person surrounded by two arms, the words “In Migrations Routes (Trafficking and Smuggling)” alongside an image of a child walking with a backpack, and the words “With Incarcerated Parents” alongside an image of a young person and an adult behind bars. To the right are the words “Three: Build Resilience in Communities Affected by Violence” next to the image of 4 figures reaching for each other.

The top right box is titled, “Strengthening National Child Welfare and Protection Systems”. On the first row, there is an image of an explosion inside a walled area and two figures with the words, “Forced to Leave their Homes but Remain Within the Borders”. To the right are the words, “Innovating Protection” and “Public Policy” with the image of two large hands encircling two figures and a map of Central America with a compass pointing north. To the right of the map are the words “North C.A.” On the second row are the words “El Salvador”, “2020 Law for”, Protect”, “Aid”, “Solution”, and “the Forcibly Displaced People” with an image of a scroll, a hand, and a figure running. To the right are the words, “Honduras” and “247,000 People Displaced by Violence” alongside an image of a figure running from three bullets. To the right are the words “Mexico” and Legislation to Protect IDPs” with an image of a hand holding a scroll next to three faces. On the third row are the words “Guatemala” and “Project with UNHCR” above an image of a van with two outstretched hands holding signs that say “Information” and “Services”. To the right are the words, “Regional Commitment to Work Together” and images of four separate hands reaching out to each other.

The left side of the bottom box has the words, “USAID”. On the top row of the left side are the words, “$300 Million Initiative” next to an image of money, the words “Empower Local Organizations” next to four figures with outstretched hands, and “to Address the Drivers of Irregular Migration” next to a fire extinguisher. Below this are the words, “Recently Updated Youth Development Policy” next to an image of arrows coming out of a hand and the word “Investing”. Below this are the words, “Child Protection” next to the image of a face on a hand, the words “Family Strengthening” next to the image of three figures with their arms in the air, and “Positive Youth Development” next to the image of a figure surrounded by grass. On the right side of the box are the words, “Listen to and Partner with Communities to Improve Well Being in central America” next to an image of an ear and 3 smiling faces. To the right are the words, “Reducing Poverty” next to the image of an open door, and the words “Job Opportunities”, “Vocational Training”, and “Improve Transparency” next to the image of a box. To the right are the words, “Citizen Security”, “Anti-Gang Initiatives” next to the image of a figure in a circle, and the words “Anti-Corruption in Governance” next to the image of an arm.

Part II: Innovating Protection for Children Along the Migratory Route and at the U.S.-Mexico Border

Webinar: April 22, 2022

Mural in San Francisco depicting an angel watching over a town and a young boy, courtesy of Flickr user gwendolen.

Children and families continue to travel between South and Central America, Mexico, and the United States in record numbers. Many experience abuse, exploitation, detention, deprivation, and discrimination along their migration journeys. How young people find protection along the migration corridor and at the border? What strategies do children on the move develop to increase their sense of safety and protection? How can policies and programs respond to the lived experiences of children on the move?

Children and families continue to travel between South and Central America, Mexico, and the United States in record numbers. International law underscores that all children have a right to safety and to access protection, seek asylum, and remain and reunite with family members. National, state, and local governments have the responsibility to protect children and families on the move, regardless of where they are from or where they are going. However, child welfare and protection systems—already fragile prior to the COVID-19 pandemic—have been overwhelmed and unable to respond to the scale of need. Civil society and community-based responses are key to building and sustaining protective factors for children and families along the migratory route, but these are also underfunded and overcapacity.

The second webinar and blog series focused on how young people find protection along the migration corridor and at the border. Contributors reflected on the strategies children on the move develop to increase their sense of safety and protection and what can be done to support and learn from these.

Óyeme: Imagination Stage on Innovating Protection for Children at the U.S.-Mexico Border.

In this video clip of Óyeme!, four young people share information about the risks they encounter on the migration journey and advice to help each other through the challenges.

Participant Interventions

“Recognizing the enormous violence to which they are exposed, we must stop considering migrant children and youth as simple victims. Their voices deserve to be heard, and the strategies that they implement every day to dignify their experience and amplify their protection must be constantly recognized and strengthened.” – Rodrigo Barraza
“Recognizing the enormous violence to which they are exposed, we must stop considering migrant children and youth as simple victims. Their voices deserve to be heard, and the strategies that they implement every day to dignify their experience and amplify their protection must be constantly recognized and strengthened.” – Rodrigo Barraza

Upholding the Right to Be and Belong

Migration offers children and young people the opportunity to access rights, services, and spaces of independence, strengthening their agency and allowing them to contribute to the well-being of their families and communities. It holds the potential to be an empowerment strategy. Yet, the decision to migrate is often linked to multiple systems of oppression and violence that begin in communities of origin, intensify along the migratory journey, and continue in destination and return communities–a circle of violence. Whether voluntary or forced, the return to their home country is often a traumatic experience that involves navigating new obstacles related to re-entering community life, sometimes without the necessary identity documents. Rodrigo Barraza, the regional co-director for the Americas with Global Fund for Children, explained, “They should have a multiplied sense of belonging, but they end up with no identity at all.” Immigration is a process in which young people attempt to find security but encounter precarity again and again.

Barraza shared learning from a multi-country initiative, the Right to Be and Belong, which has engaged 14 local partner organizations working in Guatemala, Mexico, and the United States to promote youth leadership, community education, intercultural interaction, and the rights of young migrants. To date, more than 12,000 young people have been engaged in the initiative. Barraza offered three recommendations for those working with children and youth on the move:

  • Recognize young migrants’ sense of agency and their ongoing efforts to change and improve their situations;
  • Create welcoming spaces co-designed by migrant children and youth that include access to integrated services, as well as allow them to reinforce their sense of individual and collective belonging–a starting point for comprehensive and long-term protection strategies;
  • Coordinate protection efforts on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border and create a collaborative network of organizations that support children and adolescents throughout their migratory journey. “Protection is always a collective responsibility.”
Related Blog Posts
“We visit the migration centers, about 50 around the country, and we continue to see the presence of children, which is very worrisome.” – Ana Saiz
“We visit the migration centers, about 50 around the country, and we continue to see the presence of children, which is very worrisome.” – Ana Saiz

Strengthening Laws for Child Protection in Mexico

Children and adolescents make up approximately 30 percent of the migrant and asylum-seeking population in Mexico. Roughly half of these young people are unaccompanied, and most are hoping to reunify with family members in the United States.

Ana Saiz is the director general of Sin Fronteras, a Mexican civil society organization that promotes the protection and defense of migrants’ human rights. A lawyer, she noted that child protection laws have been applied differently to Mexican and migrant children. For example, Mexico’s 2014 Law for the Protection of Children and Adolescents prohibited the detention of children and adolescents in general but young migrants were still regularly detained. Mexico enacted changes to its immigration law in late 2020, prohibiting the detention of migrant children and their adult companions. Beginning in January 2021, the Law for the Protection of Children and Adolescents was updated to ensure equal treatment for Mexican and migrant children and youth. Even so, detention of migrant children and adolescents continues to occur. 

Of further concern, Saiz explained that the National System for Integral Family Development, the Mexican institution mandated to focus on family welfare, is not specifically designed to address the complex needs of children on the move. For instance, child migrants who may be traveling with aggressors within their own family would benefit from a more child-focused protection response. Saiz recommended enhancing protection for children on the move by allowing international experts to monitor and report on the situation of migrant children and adolescents in Mexico. She also suggested replicating the Fe y Alegría model, an international network of local organizations that mobilize and leverage the support of schools, teachers, communities, and radio to promote comprehensive child protection.

Related Blog Post
A visual interpretation of the first webinar "Innovating Protection for Children Along the Migratory Route and at the U.S.-Mexico Border" done by Visualmente.

The left box is titled, “Risks and the Rights to Be and Belong”. On the first row, two young people with backpacks are next to the words “Migration of Children and Youth”. On the second row, the words, “Shaped by Multiple Dynamics” and “Violence and Oppression In Their Communities of Origin” are next to three houses surrounded by flames. On the third row, the words, “Political Criminalization and Stigmatization of Migrants” are above a finger pointing to a person walking with a backpack. The words, “Intensifying Throughout” and “Entire Migratory Route” are next to a map of Mexico and Central America. The words, “Economic Inequality” are next to a coin. The words, “Gender and Sexual Violence” are next to gender symbols. The fourth row has the words, “Three Recommendation Reflections”. The first recommendation has the words, “Recognize Sense of Agency” and “Child and Youth Migrants” below a finger pointing to a young person. The second recommendation has the words, “Create Welcoming Spaces”, “Co-Designed”, and “Sense of Individuality Collective Belonging” below two figures with their arms in the air. The third recommendation has the words, “Promote Dialogue”, “Collective and Intersectional Experience/Narrative”, “Helps to Reinforce”, and “Restore Sense of Community” below three figures holding hands.

The right box is titled, “The Experience of Migrants and Asylum-Seekers in Mexico”. On the first row, the words, “Increase in Asylum Applications” and “Thirty Percent Are Children and Adolescents” are next to a map of North and South America. Next to the map is the word, “Mexico”. The words, “Many are Unaccompanied” are above a young person walking next to cacti. The second row has the words, “Law Changed” and “Minors Cannot be Detained” next to a young person running with a backpack. The words “But It Is Not Respected” is above a hand with the letters “INM”. To the right are the words, “Some Girls Travel With Their Aggressors” alongside the image of a figure holding a hand. The words, “Urge Protocols to Protect Them” is next to the image of a figure wrapped in arms. The third row has the words, “Do Not Institutionalize” alongside the image of a figure in a room. To the right are the words, “DIF Transit Protection Spaces” alongside two people kneeling next to a young person.

Coordinating a Whole-of-government Approach

Ashley Feasley, director for transborder security at the National Security Council, described the Biden-Harris administration’s approach to Central American migration, beginning with efforts to address the root causes that lead young people to leave their homes. U.S. foreign assistance is channeling increased levels of funding to local communities with a goal of preventing migration in the first place. Some of these efforts include support for expanding child welfare and protection systems in partner countries, most notably in Guatemala and Mexico.

“We need to not only be looking at root causes but at safe and legal pathways to ensure that children can apply for legal status once they get here.” – Ashley Feasley
“We need to not only be looking at root causes but at safe and legal pathways to ensure that children can apply for legal status once they get here.” – Ashley Feasley

The administration is also working to improve reception and care for migrant children at the U.S.-Mexico border. Current efforts include training officials in trafficking prevention, reducing the time children spend in U.S. custody [4], increasing access to legal and social services, and establishing safe and legal pathways for juveniles.[5] Feasley noted that the first encounter with U.S. government officials at the border can be intimidating for young people: “We’ve really worked to improve the time in custody, understanding that the Department of Homeland Security is a law enforcement agency. They are not child welfare experts… they are there to do the work of securing the border.”

Reframing Smuggling

Gabriella Sanchez researches migration-related crimes, with a focus on migrant smuggling and human trafficking. As an ethnographer, she relies on participatory and community-based methodologies and attempts to understand smuggling from the perspective of those who participate in and/or facilitate the practice. Sanchez suggested that by focusing on the criminal aspect of smuggling, prioritizing law enforcement and security perspectives, we lose sight of what the practice means to the young people and families who invest in and negotiate or work with smugglers, or coyotes. For many of them, smuggling is a chance to attain a level of protection that they would otherwise not have.

“I want us to also think about the phenomenon [of smuggling] under the light of critical protection and human rights. If smugglers exist, it is because there is a lack of equal access to visas and passports. That is what is driving the demand… Smuggling is a form of protection from below. It provides a very basic, a very flimsy, very thin layer of protection. Families invest in that… it is also a critical act of love.” – Gabriella Sanchez
“I want us to also think about the phenomenon [of smuggling] under the light of critical protection and human rights. If smugglers exist, it is because there is a lack of equal access to visas and passports. That is what is driving the demand… Smuggling is a form of protection from below. It provides a very basic, a very flimsy, very thin layer of protection. Families invest in that… it is also a critical act of love.” – Gabriella Sanchez

Children and youth on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border help smuggle people into the United States. For most of them, it serves as an occasional job that they do alongside many others. Sanchez noted that the issue of young people’s involvement in smuggling is often framed within the context of recruitment by transnational crime and drug trafficking organizations: “I’m not ignoring that dimension, but that makes invisible the desire and agency of the children. On both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border, participating in smuggling is one of the very few jobs that they have available and can take advantage of their social capital and knowledge of the landscape.”

To address smuggling effectively, it is critical that young people engaged in the practice inform programmatic and policy solutions. “When we don’t listen to the children and what they have to say, we lack the paths to create policy that can address the situations that they are facing on the ground. Any response that is crafted–any policy solution that is articulated to address some of the challenges that children face–has to put people at the center of the discussion. We have to keep and mind the way they understand and mobilize risk and safety for their own well-being and that of their families.”

A visual interpretation of the first webinar "Innovating Protection for Children Along the Migratory Route and at the U.S.-Mexico Border" done by Visualmente.

The box on the left is titled, “U.S. Government’s Role in Protecting Unaccompanied Children at the Border” and “Expand Child Welfare and Protection Systems”. On the first row are the words, “In Home Countries” with an image of arrows pointing to the words, “Address Root Causes of Migration”. Below this is the word, “Prevention” with the image of an arrow pointing to a hand holding a coin over three houses and the words, “In Local Communities”. To the right is a map of Central and South America with arrows around with the words “Across the Region”. The second row has the words “Law Enforcement Officers are Not Child Welfare Experts” and “They Can Be Intimidating for Children” next to images of a law enforcement officer and a young person with sweat beads. To the right are the words, “Efforts to Improve the System” with four arrows pointing. The first arrow points to the words, “Train Officials in Trafficking Prevention” and is next to the image of a person pointing a document. The second arrow points to the words, “Reduce Time in US Custody” and is next to the image of a figure sitting on a bench next to a clock. The third arrow points to the words, “Increase Access to Legal and Social Services” and is next to an image of a handing reaching for a document. The fourth arrow points to the words, “Establish Safe and Legal Pathways for Juveniles” and is next to an image of a path.

The box on the right is titled, “A Nuanced View of Smuggling”. The first row has an image of hands holding a box filled with figures next to the words, “Consider Smuggling in the Context of Critical Protection and Human Rights”. To the right are the words, “Smugglers (Coyotes)” and “Exist Because There is a Lack of Equal Access to Protection/Visas” next to the image of two figures looking at the flag of the United States and a document that says, “Requisito” alongside a coyote that is saying, “Without Documents?”. On the second row are the words, “Smuggling is a Form of Protection for Those Who Seek Alternative Paths” next to the image of a plane in the sky and a truck with images of people on its side. To the right are the words, “Families Invest in Smuggling When They Have No Other Option” with the image of a woman with a tear handing a child to a coyote. On the third row are the words, “Children/Youth Play an Active Role in Smuggling” and “A Dangerous Job But One of the Few Available to Them to Help Their Families” next to the image of a woman and a young girl with a backpack holding money. To the right are the words, “Poverty on Both Sides” with an image of two houses separated by a wall.

Mitigating Risk at the Border

“Once you cross into the United States, it doesn’t mean you are safe. In the U.S., you are also at risk of being taken by traffickers or gangs who keep you in stash houses to make money off of you. Young women are often taken to be exploited sexually.” – Sister Norma Pimentel
“Once you cross into the United States, it doesn’t mean you are safe. In the U.S., you are also at risk of being taken by traffickers or gangs who keep you in stash houses to make money off of you. Young women are often taken to be exploited sexually.” – Sister Norma Pimentel

Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley is often a first point of contact for migrants when they are released from immigration detention centers in Texas. The Humanitarian Respite Center was established as a direct response to the border crisis in 2014 and has since served more than 100,000 asylum-seekers fleeing violence, crime, exploitation, and extreme poverty. The center provides asylum-seekers a welcoming space to rest, eat, shower, and sleep before they continue their journey into the United States.

Sister Norma Pimentel, M.J., is the executive director of Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley, the charitable arm of the Diocese of Brownsville. In addition to overseeing a frontline humanitarian response, Sr. Norma is a formidable advocate for the rights and protection of migrant and asylum-seekers on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border. [6]  She continues to express concern about the danger and deep vulnerability experienced by children and families along the border in Mexico and the United States, noting that the absence of effective protection systems has left children and families to fend for themselves against gangs and traffickers. She emphasized that policies that focus on immigration deterrence have done little to protect children and families. Current policies have also led to unnecessary and preventable child separation.

“A lot of times children are not unaccompanied and they end up being separated or sent back to Mexico because they come with someone other than a parent. If they come with grandma or an older brother, it is still family, but they get separated. Or, a child who just turned 18 on the day that the family crossed over, they are separated. The effort to keep the family together is so essential… It should be something that is established in policy so families don’t go through the hardship of separation.” – Sister Norma Pimentel

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Managing Migrant Flows in Mexico

Mexico is a country of origin, transit, return, and destination for migrants and asylum-seekers. It is currently one of the most important migration corridors in the world. Migratory flows continue to increase, particularly among children. According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, more than 30,000 unaccompanied children were apprehended at the U.S.-Mexico border in fiscal year 2020. The number increased by 340 percent the following year, with 147,000 minors apprehended. Unaccompanied children comprised 25 percent of those apprehended at the border in fiscal year 2021. Most of these children come from northern Central America, but also Haiti, Cuba, Brazil, Venezuela, as well as countries in Africa and Asia.

“Migrant children and adolescents are exposed to multiple risks during their migratory transit – arbitrary arrests, organized crime, human trafficking, exploitation. In addition to this, they don’t have access to health services, housing, education, legal identity documents, justice. These children are arriving in a very unstable environment, and they require highly specialized care. They have had a lack of routine, extreme stress during their migration, which affects their development and can affect their behavior.” – Dana Graber Ladek
“Migrant children and adolescents are exposed to multiple risks during their migratory transit – arbitrary arrests, organized crime, human trafficking, exploitation. In addition to this, they don’t have access to health services, housing, education, legal identity documents, justice. These children are arriving in a very unstable environment, and they require highly specialized care. They have had a lack of routine, extreme stress during their migration, which affects their development and can affect their behavior.” – Dana Graber Ladek

Dana Graber Ladek, chief of mission at the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in Mexico noted that even in the midst of compounding trauma, young migrants exhibit a great deal of resilience. IOM recognizes the sense of agency that children and youth develop throughout their journeys and seeks to build on it by creating safe spaces and temporary shelters for children and families on the move where they can access medical care, psychosocial support, recreational activities, and timely and reliable information. IOM also works to facilitate access to legal identity documents, a critical form of protection: “Very few entities in Mexico are helping migrant families access identity documents. The right to identity is extremely important. Passports, birth certificates–these are key for migrant children–without these, they are denied services.” The agency provides training to immigration authorities to promote child-sensitive immigration policies and procedures in alignment with the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration.

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An image of a group of people walking with a text overlayed reading "In Their Own Words: Listen to the stories of three young people who traveled with coyotes from northern Central America, through Mexico, and across the border into the United States."

The stories in this audio clip were shared by migrant and asylum-seeking youth who recently arrived in the United States. Their stories are narrated here by voice actors to protect their identity. The recordings were produced as a collaboration between Imagination Stage’s Theatre for Change program and Identity, a community-based organization that works with thousands of Latino and other underserved young people in Montgomery County, Maryland. Listen to In Their Own Words: The Journey.

A visual interpretation of the first webinar "Innovating Protection for Children Along the Migratory Route and at the U.S.-Mexico Border" done by Visualmente.

The left box is titled, “Children and Families on the Border”. On the first row of the box are the words “Danger on Both Sides for Children and Families”, which is above an image of figures separated by a wall and surrounded by monsters. To the right are the words “Policies Focus on Deterrence” and “Have Done Little to Protect Children and Families” with an image of a hand pushing two figures away. The second row has the words “Families Try to Protect Children, But They Are Not Safe Even After Crossing the Border” with an image of a figure reaching through a window to grab another figure. Next to the figure that is reaching are the words “Predators”, “Gangs”, and “Traffickers”. To the right is an image of a women crying in front of a police officer alongside the words “Children in Detention or ORR facilities are Depressed and Suffer”. Below this image is a young girl wrapped in a hand reaching for a woman. This image is next to a building with the words “Migration Center”. These images are surrounded by the words “Requires a Lot of Work To Prevent the Risk of Family Separation” and “Not Consider to the Families”. The third row has the words “Churches and Faith Actors are Working Together to Help Create Pathway and Center” with an image of a priest and a woman with outstretched arms and figures behind them. To the right are the words “International Monitoring are Needed” and “Family Reunification Must be Expedited”. The words are above the images of a globe, a magnifying glass, and a hand reaching down to a group of figures.

The right box is titled, “Focus on Migrant Children/Youth in Mexico”. On the first row there is a map of a path between the United States and Mexico next to the words “Mexico”, “Origin”, “Transit”, “Return” “and “Destination” as well as the words “Most Important Corridor of Migration in the World”. To the right is an image of a young person walking with a backpack across a minefield of coronaviruses surrounded by the words “COVID-19 Complicates Migration”. The second row has the words “FY2020 34,000, FY2021 149,000, “Increase +340%”, and “Minors Apprehended at the US-MX Border” next to an image of a young person with a backpack and a hand. To the right is an image of a young person wrapped in a hand surrounded by the words, “Child/Youth Migrants Face”. The words “Arbitrary Arrest” are next to an image of hand cuffs, the words “Organized Crime” are next to an image of a gun, the words “Lack of Access to Social Services” are next to an image of a stethoscope and a book, and the words “Trafficking” and “Exploitation” are next to an image of a hammer. The third row has the words “Importance of Safe Spaces for Children and Families” above an image of a woman and young person that have a hand over them. Below this image are the words, “Medical Care” “Psychosocial Support”, and “Recreational and Educational Activities”. To the right are the words “Families Need Help Access”. Arrows point to the words, “Legal Identity Documents” next to an image of a book and the word “Information” next to images of a speech bubble and documents. To the right are the words “Stress Affects their Development” next to the image of a plant and the words “But Also Exhibit Great Resilience” next to the image of a flower Below this are the words “Immigration Authorities Need Training in All Countries” with an image of two people looking at a person pointing to the words, “Child Sensitive Immigration Policies Procedures”.

Part III: Innovating Protection for Migrant and Asylum-Seeking Youth in U.S. Communities

Webinar: May 4, 2022

Mural in San Francisco depicting a woman reaching her arms out to children, courtesy of Flickr user Fabrice Florin.

The number of young people fleeing high levels of violence, crime, natural disasters, food insecurity, and poverty and crossing the U.S.-Mexico border reached a 20-year high in the U.S. government’s fiscal year 2021. Communities across the country are challenged to meet the needs of newcomer children and youth, often with little federal or state support. What efforts are underway to help them find protection and stability in their new communities? Who is responsible for providing support?

The number of young people fleeing high levels of violence, crime, natural disasters, food insecurity, and poverty and crossing the U.S.-Mexico border reached a 20-year high in the U.S. government’s fiscal year 2021. This included a record number of children who entered the United States unaccompanied. This is not just a temporary phase; it is a trend that is likely to continue as children across the Americas continue to face a cascade of risks. Many newly arriving migrant and asylum-seeking children reunify with parents or sponsors in the United States after extended periods of separation. Most need significant support upon their release from federal custody and as they navigate their new lives in the United States. Communities across the country are challenged to meet the needs of newcomer children and youth, often with little federal or state support.

The third webinar and blog series considered the needs of migrant and asylum-seeking children and youth in the United States and those who are mobilizing efforts to help them find protection and stability in their new communities.

Óyeme: In the United States.

In this short scene from Óyeme, newcomer youth describe how it feels to arrive in the United States and reunify with family members.

Participant Interventions

Providing Child-centered Services in the United States

Kids In Need of Defense (KIND) supports children on the move across the Americas at all stages of the journey–from countries of origin, along the migratory route, and in U.S. communities, ensuring trauma-informed and resilience-oriented programming at all points of encounter with young people experiencing migration. KIND advocates for an immigration system with child-centered policies and procedures that embrace all children, no matter where they are from.

Once released from U.S. custody into the care of a sponsor, unaccompanied children need access to services to help them address the trauma they may have experienced and integrate into their new communities. Key assistance includes legal support, medical and mental health services, help with school enrollment, parent education and support, and family counseling.

“We have to make sure that our practices are rooted in the strengths and resilience of the children we serve. So many of the kids have experienced adverse child experiences and complex trauma both in their country of origin, en route, and as they arrive in the U.S. How do we create systems that are able to support the long-lasting strengths and well-being of the child, the family network, and their communities? We need to be able to listen to the clients, the local partners, and really think about the resilience that the children bring. They were able to make this journey alone. They are here. Let’s reframe the conversation to focus on this.” – Wendy Miron
“We have to make sure that our practices are rooted in the strengths and resilience of the children we serve. So many of the kids have experienced adverse child experiences and complex trauma both in their country of origin, en route, and as they arrive in the U.S. How do we create systems that are able to support the long-lasting strengths and well-being of the child, the family network, and their communities? We need to be able to listen to the clients, the local partners, and really think about the resilience that the children bring. They were able to make this journey alone. They are here. Let’s reframe the conversation to focus on this.” – Wendy Miron

Wendy Miron, KIND’s senior director of social services, emphasized the importance of identifying and meeting the needs of newly arrived migrant and asylum-seeking children at the local level and linking these initiatives with strategic policy efforts. [7]  Miron noted that when unaccompanied children are released from federal government custody to family members or other sponsors, they often lack forms of valid identification, making it difficult to access services and thrive in the United States. KIND has therefore advocated for expanded access to state and municipal identification documents to facilitate access to services.

Miron emphasized the importance of working with school districts to support newly arriving migrant and asylum-seeking children: “Schools really need information about unaccompanied minors. What are their needs? How do we identify them? As we know, ‘unaccompanied minor’ is a legal term. We don’t always know that a child is an unaccompanied minor, and they themselves don’t identify as such.” KIND worked with the Oakland Unified School District, a model for innovative approaches to welcoming newcomers and ensuring they are supported to succeed educationally, to host a national convening that brought together teachers, school board members, county officials, students who arrived in the United States unaccompanied, and other stakeholders from across the country to share promising practices.

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“One of the most innovative things that the county has done is to learn from our mistakes. There have been surges before and we were not always well prepared to meet the needs of these young people and their families… The state and the federal government provide very little support for these young people and families. And when we are talking about thousands of new arrivals, the situation gets quite complicated.” – Diego Uriburu
“One of the most innovative things that the county has done is to learn from our mistakes. There have been surges before and we were not always well prepared to meet the needs of these young people and their families… The state and the federal government provide very little support for these young people and families. And when we are talking about thousands of new arrivals, the situation gets quite complicated.” – Diego Uriburu

Coordinating at the County Level

Federal and state support for and coordination between states and counties with large numbers of newly arriving migrant and asylum-seeking children and families is minimal. The vast majority–84 percent–of federal program costs for unaccompanied migrant children are spent on the first 30 to 60 days after a child’s arrival in the United States—when they are in federal custody. Less than 16 percent is spent on the following months or years, when they are adjusting to life in U.S. communities. As a result, local responses vary across the country, with few opportunities for counties, cities, and school districts to learn from one another and share best practices.

Diego Uriburu is the executive director and co-founder of Identity, a non-profit serving on the front lines of the response to newly arriving young people in Montgomery County, Maryland, one of the highest receiving areas in the country for unaccompanied migrant children released to sponsors. He described the county’s effort to attend to the needs of newcomer youth through expanded health, mental health, school and after-school programming, legal assistance, and other services. Without strategic guidance from federal agencies or a coordination mechanism in place to share learning and best practices with other high-receiving counties, the county has been innovating its own path forward.

Uriburu described coordination efforts between county government, the public school district, and community partners who have been leading this work for decades. Together, partners developed a six-part strategy—the Bienvenidos Initiative—focusing on outreach and communications; navigation and case management; education and school-based services; legal orientation and service provision; positive youth development and recreation; and anti-discrimination, public safety, and trafficking prevention. In July 2021, the Montgomery County Council's joint Health and Human Services and Education and Culture Committee approved more than 5 million dollars in supplemental funding to support newly arriving migrant and asylum-seeking children, youth, and families through coordinated services.

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A visual interpretation of the first webinar "Innovating Protection for Migrant and Asylum-Seeking Children and Youth in U.S. Communities" done by Visualmente.

The box on the left is titled, “Supporting Young people as They Reunify with Families and Transition to Community Life in the US”. On the first row are the words, “Create Community Based Systems that Support Young Peoples” with images of a hand holding a book, a hand holding an apple, and a hand holding a stethoscope. To the right are the words, “Strengths and Resilience” next to the image of a young person wearing a backpack. To the right are the words, “Listen to Children and Youth” next to the images of a speech bubble and an ear. The second row has the words “Culture Cures” and “Art Therapy” next to the image of a figure drawing a heart. To the right are the words, “Better Experiences” and “Community Building” next to the image of a figure surrounded by the words, “Workshop”, “Worthy Space”, “Care”, and “Education”. To the right are the words, “Important Volunteer Teams” next to the image of two figures with outstretched arms. The third row has the words “Innovate with Low Budget” with an image of a lightbulb next to a car. To the right are the words, “Reducing Stigma Around Mental Health Support” next to the image of a hand touching the top of a figure’s head. The routh row has the words, “Importance of Supporting Public School Systems” and “Receiving Newly-Arriving Young People” alongside the images of a headless body in a suit with an outstretched hand and an adult handing a young person with a backpack a book.

The box in the middle is titled, “What Kind of Support Do Communities Receiving Large Numbers of Newly Arriving Migrants and Asylum-Seeking Youth Receive?” The first row has an image of two young people walking with backpacks in front of three outstretched hands. To the right are the words, “Few Federal or State Money to Support Receiving Communities”. On the second row are the words, “Federal Program” and “Unaccompanied Migrant Children” above the words “Eighty-four Percent Spend on First Thirty to Sixty days After Arrival in Fed Custody” and “Sixteen Percent to Support Children in US Communities Post-Release” alongside the image of an unevenly split one-hundred-dollar bill. On the third row are the words, “Communities are Self-Organizing Spaces” and “Help-Protection” alongside two figures holding a box over the image of a house. To the right are the words, “Local Responses Vary for Community or County” and “Few Opportunities to Share or Learn Best Practices” with images of arrows going in different directions. The fourth row has the words, “Without Access to Legal Service” and “Many Newly Arriving C&Y Are Deported” alongside images of a woman reaching up towards a winged document that has the word “Law” written on it and a law enforcement officer who is pointing and saying the word, “Out”.

The box on the right is titled, “Federal Custody Unaccompanied Migrant and Asylum-Seeking Children”. The first row has the words “Transition Support for Children Who’ve Crossed the Border Alone” next to the image of a young person with a backpack. To the right are the words, “Determining the Best Interest of the Child” next to the image of a sun and an image of a hand pointing to the words, “Social Services”, “Legal Services”, “Health Education”, and “Local Customs”. The second row has an image of two children in a box with chairs and the words, “Thirty Days” and “Unaccompanied Children Are in Federal Care”. On the third row are the words, “Coordinating Faith-Based Actors Across the Migratory Route and In The US” and “Including Faith-Based Policy and Advocacy” next to the images of a figure with outreached hands wearing a cross pendant and two figures walking along a path. On the fourth row are the words, “Only One of Five Unaccompanied Migrant Children Receive Federal-Funded”, “And Home Visiting”, “No More Ninety Day”, and “Only the Most Vulnerable” with the images of a hand holding money, a figure balancing on a block, and an adult talking to a young person in a doorway. The fifth row has the words, “Insufficient Research on Post-Release Services” with speech bubbles that say, “What is Most Effective?” and “What Are the Best Practices?”

Recognizing Indigeneity in the United States

The majority of children crossing the U.S.-Mexico border are from Guatemala, a majority Indigenous country. Many are Maya, not Hispanic or Latino. They speak Indigenous languages–an important truth that often goes unrecognized at border facilities, in receiving communities, and public schools.

“The vulnerabilities that we face are connected to our Indigeneity, racism, discrimination, and the fact that we have been miscategorized as Latino or Hispanic. The reason that people within the immigrant rights space are finally acknowledging Indigenous peoples is because it has been Indigenous people ourselves advocating for that change, pushing for the recognition of our peoples.” – Juanita Cabrera Lopez
“The vulnerabilities that we face are connected to our Indigeneity, racism, discrimination, and the fact that we have been miscategorized as Latino or Hispanic. The reason that people within the immigrant rights space are finally acknowledging Indigenous peoples is because it has been Indigenous people ourselves advocating for that change, pushing for the recognition of our peoples.” – Juanita Cabrera Lopez

Juanita Cabrera Lopez is Maya Mam and the executive director of the International Mayan League, which works closely with Indigenous communities in the U.S. diaspora and Guatemala to assert their right to exist. She noted that it is impossible to understand the present without understanding the past: Indigenous migration and resettlement are tied to a history of colonialism and imperialism. The International Mayan League brings an Indigenous response to the issue, supporting Maya communities under attack in Guatemala as a way of addressing root drivers of forced migration as well as organizing on behalf of Maya families in destination areas throughout the diaspora.

Cabrera Lopez quoted a former Maya Mam child migrant in the United States, “We are invisible; the greater community does not even know we exist or are here.” Cabrera Lopez added, “Indigenous identity is a key factor of both external and internal erasure by the dominant society that does not recognize us. Internally, it has been a way to preserve ourselves for survival. We as peoples have been persecuted for more than 500 years because we are Indigenous, one of the ways we have survived is to hide our identity.”

Support for Indigenous newcomers in resettlement communities is primarily organized by the Indigenous communities themselves. Cabrera Lopez emphasized the need for allies and advocates to recognize, elevate, and support these efforts. She also stressed the importance of improving data collection to counter exclusion and acknowledge that Indigenous people exist and are part of our communities. Without quality disaggregated data, the rights of Indigenous peoples, including their language needs, are not met. Indigenous people and organizations must be included in the all aspects of the migration policy and programmatic response–not as an afterthought, but as a critical part of the design and planning processes.

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Mobilizing Faith Actors in the United States to Support Children on the Move

Once processed by border authorities, unaccompanied children are transferred to residential care sites operated under the auspices of the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR). ORR is responsible for providing housing and care commensurate with the child’s safety and emotional and physical needs, including medical care, education, and other services, and identifying and vetting sponsors (usually family members) to whom the child may be safely released while awaiting immigration proceedings. [8] The system of care for unaccompanied children under ORR includes a diverse network of implementing partners with a continuum of placement options for unaccompanied children, such as the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Department of Migration and Refugee Services (USCCB/MRS).

“When [unaccompanied children] arrive in our programs from the border, they often have little more than the clothes on their back. They don’t know where they are, they don’t know why they are still in custody… Our direct care providers on the ground seek to welcome them, meet their basic needs, and try to help them feel comfortable, safe and cared for while they’re in the program.” – Kathleen Goss
“When [unaccompanied children] arrive in our programs from the border, they often have little more than the clothes on their back. They don’t know where they are, they don’t know why they are still in custody… Our direct care providers on the ground seek to welcome them, meet their basic needs, and try to help them feel comfortable, safe and cared for while they’re in the program.” – Kathleen Goss

Kathleen Goss, associate director for foster care with USCCB/MRS, described the national network of faith-based providers addressing the needs of refugee and other migrating youth, including unaccompanied children from Central America. USCCB’s providers are in every region of the continental United States and include 17 agencies providing foster care services across 13 states and 16 agencies providing family reunification services across 11 states. The Safe Passages program aims to prepare children who crossed the border alone and their caregivers for success after reunification. Children in the program receive case management and access to medical, dental, vision, and mental health care; individualized education; and legal screenings.

Goss underscored the value of ongoing partnership and collaboration with faith-based partners. “Our providers really seek to integrate faith into the care for these young people and their families–always seeing their dignity as persons, seeing their resiliency and working to meet their needs and support them within the context of their strengths.” She added, “The information that our faith partners share really helps us frame our advocacy. It informs us on the impact that various policies have on migrating people, on families and young people in country of origin as well as along the journey. It helps raise up the stories of asylum-seekers.” USCCB has collaborated with faith-based partners to raise concerns about the dangers of the Migrant Protection Protocols and the Zero Tolerance policy. [9] USCCB also participates in the Vatican Section on Migrants and Refugees to uphold principles that support people on the move.

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“Obviously all kids would benefit and should have some type of follow-up services because the transition is extremely difficult and new both for the sponsor and household members and for the child who has gone through this momentous experience coming to the United States.” – Matt Haygood
“Obviously all kids would benefit and should have some type of follow-up services because the transition is extremely difficult and new both for the sponsor and household members and for the child who has gone through this momentous experience coming to the United States.” – Matt Haygood

Scaling Up Post-release Services

The Office of Refugee Resettlement provides resources and services for particularly vulnerable children once they are released from federal custody. Approximately 20 percent of unaccompanied children released to sponsors receive federally-funded post-release services (PRS), which include assistance connecting children and their sponsors to community-based resources.

Matt Haygood is the director of children’s services at the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants (USCRI), which is one of 15 federally-funded grantees implementing home study and post-release services programs for unaccompanied children. Referrals for PRS are made by ORR, prior to the child’s release from federal custody. Community-based providers cannot refer children to these services, even if they are identified as needing additional support. Provision of PRS is short-term, typically 90 days. Haygood noted, “We’ve got a lot to do in a short period of time.”

There have long been calls to expand access to PRS. Yet, even with a pledge to extend coverage to all unaccompanied children released to sponsors by 2023, thousands of children who are currently eligible remain on waitlists for services. Haygood stressed that provision of post-release services would benefit from further evaluation: “Post-release services have only been around and federally funded for about a decade… There hasn’t been a lot of research or funding dedicated to figuring out what is the best model, what is the best way to approach this, and how can we be most effective with our resources?”

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Reimagining Reception and Care for Children on the Move

“Arrivals of children, unaccompanied children included, is not a seasonal problem. This is a part of life. Any community, local authority, state, or country in the world needs to prepare for the constant ebb and flow of families arriving… This has been the trend for 20 years… So how are we preparing ourselves? We always seem to be in reactive or emergency mode, but we don’t spend enough time reimagining reception and care for children from the beginning to the end.” – Verena Knaus
“Arrivals of children, unaccompanied children included, is not a seasonal problem. This is a part of life. Any community, local authority, state, or country in the world needs to prepare for the constant ebb and flow of families arriving… This has been the trend for 20 years… So how are we preparing ourselves? We always seem to be in reactive or emergency mode, but we don’t spend enough time reimagining reception and care for children from the beginning to the end.” – Verena Knaus

Providing child-sensitive and adequate reception and care for the large and growing number of children on the move around the world, particularly those who are unaccompanied or separated from their parents or primary caregivers, is a global concern and an important priority for UNICEF. Verena Knaus is UNICEF’s global lead on migration and displacement. Her work brings together the worlds of international child rights and protection, immigration, and domestic child welfare. Knaus asked, “How do we make sure that whatever we do is actually centered around what children need and not so much centered around what institutions or organizations usually do?”

UNICEF urges partners to consider how reception, care, and services for unaccompanied migrant children in the United States and across the region can be built around the best interests of each child. Knaus recommended reimagining the immigration response system–moving away from a primary focus on border enforcement to an approach that is centered on what children need. This includes ensuring that anyone coming into contact with a child on the move in an official capacity is equipped to consider and act in accordance with the child’s best interest. Investments also need to be rethought, redirecting funds from immigration detention to family- and community-based supports. Most importantly, the response to children on the move must be designed with and informed by young people who have lived the migration experience.

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An image of children in a circle with the following text overlayed, "In Their Own Words: Listen to three youth describe what it has been like to navigate their new lives and find support in the United States."

The stories in this audio clip were shared by migrant and asylum-seeking youth who recently arrived in the United States. Their stories are narrated here by voice actors to protect their identity. The recordings were produced as a collaboration between Imagination Stage’s Theatre for Change program and Identity, a community-based organization that works with thousands of Latino and other underserved young people in Montgomery County, Maryland. Listen to In Their Own Words: In the United States.

A visual interpretation of the first webinar "Innovating Protection for Migrant and Asylum-Seeking Children and Youth in U.S. Communities" done by Visualmente.

The left box is titled, “The Experience of Indigenous Migrants”. The first row has the words, “Majority of Children Crossing U.S.-Mex Border Are From Guatemala”, “Many Are Native American”, and “They Are Mis-categorized as Hispanic Latino” next to an image of a box with figures inside and the image of an outlined woman. To the right is a figure saying, “They Speak Indigenous Languages”, and the words, “An important Truth that Often Goes Unnoticed”. To the right are the words, “Vulnerabilities Are Connected to Indigeneity, Racism, and Discrimination” next to the images of hands exchanging money, face, and a hand. The third row has the words “Migration is Linked to Colonialism Imperialism”, “Forced Displacement for Indigenous People”, and “500 Years of Experience” next to an image of a figure with outstretched arms wearing a helmet and an arrow next to three figures. To the right are the words “Indigenous People are Raising Awareness About their Reality”, “Leading and Pushing”, and “Advocacy and Recognition” next to the images of a woman with an outstretched arm, a clay pot, and four figures. To the right is an image of a figure saying, “When We Are in Our Final Destination We Aare Invisible, The Greater Community Doesn’t Even Know Exist Or Are Here”. Next to the figure are the words, “Data is Key to Making Indigenous Communities Visible”. On the fourth row are the words, “Indigenous Communities Identity to Survive” next to the image of aa figure. To the right are the words, “Indigenous Communities Are Responding to and Protecting to Newly Arriving Migrants” with an image of outstretched hands reaching towards a young person with a backpack.

The right box is titled, “Final Thoughts”. The first row has the words, “Migratory Trend on the Rise” next to an image of a globe with an upward arrow. To the right are the words, “ Child Migration is Not a Regional or Seasonal Phenomenon” and “It is Part of a Life That Will Continue” next to the image of two children walking with backpacks. The second row has the words, “Approached Centered What Children Need” next to the image of two young people and a hand holding a box. To the right are the words, “Reimagine Reception and Care for Children on the Move Away from Border Enforcement”. To the right are the words, “Investments Move Away For Border Infrastructure and Enforcement to Family and Community-based Support” next to the image of a house with four arms surrounding it. The third row has the words, “Anyone in Contact with Children Should be Equipped to Consider the Child’s Best Interest” next to images of an adult, a young person, an apple, a book, and two hearts. To the right are the words, “Design Systems and Responses with Young People” and “Listening to Their Feedback” with images of a young person holding a sheet and three ears.

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[1] Imagination Stage created Óyeme in 2014 in response to the large number of migrant and asylum-seeking youth from Central America arriving in the county. It began as a small afterschool program—providing space for newcomer youth to explore their stories and share their experiences in a culturally-sensitive and trauma-informed way. Over time, the students helped playwright Miriam Gonzales create the play Óyeme, the Beautiful. The production follows a group of teens from Central America who are making the dangerous trek across the border to the Washington, DC, region. The play helps build awareness and empathy within the broader community. As a result of Imagination Stage’s partnership with Montgomery County and D.C. Public Schools, Óyeme workshops continue to take place in more than 25 English Language Learner classrooms during the school day, and the play has reached more than 7,000 audience members.
[2] The stories in these audio clips were shared by migrant and asylum-seeking youth who recently arrived in Montgomery County, Maryland. Their stories are narrated by voice actors to protect their identity. The young people are involved with Identity, a local, community-based organization that works with thousands of Latino and other underserved young people and their families living in high poverty neighborhoods across Montgomery County after school. The voice actors work with Imagination Stage’s Theatre for Change program, which uses theatre productions and educational workshops to bridge cultural divides and lift up underrepresented voices.
[3] Administrator Power officially launched USAID’s Northern Triangle Task Force on May 4, 2021 in response to President Biden’s February 2, 2021 Executive Order.
[4] As required by the William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2008, Section 235(b)(3) on Transfers of Unaccompanied Alien Children: “Except in the case of exceptional circumstances, any department or agency of the Federal Government that has an unaccompanied alien child in custody shall transfer the custody of such child to the Secretary of Health and Human Services not later than 72 hours after determining that such child is an unaccompanied alien child.” See Public Law 110-457.
[5] On March 7, 2022, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced a final rule to align the Special Immigrant Juvenile (SIJ) classification with existing federal statutes and clarify SIJ eligibility criteria and evidentiary requirements to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the program.
[6] Sister Normal Pimentel, M.J., is featured in Oh Mercy, a documentary film by Robert Bilheimer about thousands of refugees, migrants, and asylum seekers from Central America on both sides of the Rio Grande.
[7] KIND. 2020. KIND Blueprint: Concrete Steps to Protect Unaccompanied Children on the Move. The Blueprint provides guidance on how the U.S. government should uphold its responsibility to treat unaccompanied children humanely and in accordance with the law.
[8] ORR is required to promptly place unaccompanied children in its custody in the least restrictive setting that is in the best interests of the child. See United States Public Law 110-457: 8 U.S.C. § 1232(c)(2)(A). See also United States Department of Health and Human Services. Administration for Children and Families. Office of Refugee Resettlement. 2022. ORR Unaccompanied Children Program Policy Guide.
[9] On March 21, 2022, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), the Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc. (CLINIC), and Catholic Charities USA (CCUSA) filed an amicus curiae brief in Biden v. Texas. The brief argued that Migrant Protection Protocol is immoral because it disregards the God-given dignity of those enrolled, contrary to Catholic social teaching, and illegal because it violates the United States’ non-refoulement obligations under U.S. and international law. The widely accepted principle of non-refoulement prohibits the practice of returning refugees and asylum seekers to any territory where they are likely to face threats to their life or freedom based on certain characteristics.

Collaborative Design Team

Our collaborative design team is represented by Georgetown’s Collaborative on Global Children’s Issues and Institute for the Study of International Migration, UNICEF, Global Fund for Children and its network of local civil society organizations on both sides of the border, and two youth-serving organizations in the DC metro area, Identity and Imagination Stage/¡Óyeme!

Rodrigo Barraza, regional co-director for the Americas, Global Fund for Children

Elizabeth Ferris, research professor, Georgetown University Institute for the Study of International Migration

Rhonda Fleischer, program specialist, migration, UNICEF

Fresia Guzman, program director, Identity

Gillian Huebner, executive director, Georgetown University Collaborative on Global Children’s Issues

Joanne Seelig, artistic director, Imagination Stage

Nickii Wantakan Arcado, graduate student assistant, Georgetown University Collaborative on Global Children’s Issues

Kelly Yzique-Zea, manager, migration, child protection and domestic advocacy, UNICEF USA

Contributors to the Forum

The Collaborative Forum featured contributions by community leaders, policy analysts, non-profit workers, scholars, researchers, and more. 

Gabe Albornoz, president, Montgomery County Council

Alondra Andrade, community engagement coordinator, Tahirih Justice Center

Rodrigo Barraza, regional co-director for the Americas, Global Fund for Children

Emily Bartholomew, J.D., LL.M.

Jonathan Beier, associate policy analyst, human services initiative, Migration Policy Institute (MPI)

Lorena Brady, policy and program manager, International Mayan League

María Eugenia Brizuela de Ávila, former minister of foreign affairs, El Salvador

Luciano Cadoni, program officer for the rights of the child, Church World Service

Paulina Olvera Cañez, founder and director, Espacio Migrante

Changing the Way We Care

Cesia Chavarría, communications assistant, International Organization for Migration (IOM)

Mark Connolly, representative, UNICEF/Honduras

Katharine Donato, Donald G. Herzberg professor of international migration, Georgetown University School of Foreign Service

Marc Elrich, chief executive, Montgomery County, Maryland

Nikki Enersen, foreign service officer, U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)

Marisa O. Ensor, adjunct lecturer, Georgetown University Justice and Peace Studies Program

Ashley Feasley, director for transborder security, National Security Council

Elizabeth Ferris, research professor, Georgetown University Institute for the Study of International Migration

Luis Alberto Garcia, VisualMente

Kathleen Goss, associate director for foster care, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Department of Migration and Refugee Services (USCCB/MRS)

Daniela Hall, Demetrios G. Papademetriou young scholar, Migration Policy Institute (MPI)

Matt Haygood, director of children’s services, U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants (USCRI)

Josephine Herman, Esq., staff attorney, Catholic Charities Community Services

Gillian Huebner, executive director, Georgetown University Collaborative on Global Children’s Issues

Juan José Hurtado, executive director, Asociación Pop No’j

Benjamin Ilka, creative director, USAID/Guatemala

Deanna Johnson, program coordinator/migration, Pan American Development Foundation

JXC Guatemala

Emil’ Keme, professor, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Verena Knaus, global lead on migration and displacement, UNICEF

Dana Graber Ladek, chief of mission, International Organization for Migration (IOM)/Mexico

Sofia Linarte, managing attorney, unaccompanied minors program, Catholic Charities New York

José Guillermo Lopez, regional project management specialist, USAID/Guatemala

Juanita Cabrera Lopez, executive director, International Mayan League

Eric Macias, Ph.D. candidate, State University of New York at Albany

Juan Edwin Pacay Mendoza, coordinator of the Kajib’ Ix Program, Vida Digna Collective Association

Wendy Miron, senior director of social services, Kids in Need of Defense (KIND)

Maria Jesus Mora, research assistant, Migration Policy Institute (MPI)

Kamilah Morain, deputy director for Trinidad and Tobago, Pan American Development Foundation

Eleonora Mura, coordinator partnerships and resource mobilization, Alliance for the Protection of Children

Johanna Neece, program specialist for the foster care team, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops/Migration and Refugee Services (USCCB/MRS)

Pablo Aurelio Loredo Oyervidez, monitoring and evaluation officer for the Americas, International Detention Coalition

Sister Norma Pimentel, M.J., executive director, Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley

Juan Manuel Ramirez, communications assistant, International Organization for Migration (IOM)

Ana Saiz, director general, Sin Fronteras

Gabriella Sanchez, border control and migration enforcement scholar

Joanne Seelig, artistic director of education and Theatre for Change, Imagination Stage

Brett Stark, Esq., co-founder, Terra Firma at Catholic Charities New York

Andrea Tanco, strategic advisor to the president and associate policy analyst, Migration Policy Institute (MPI)

Maya Tz’utujil, family-community organizer

Diego Uriburu, executive director and co-founder, Identity

Karen Valladares, executive director, National Forum for Migration/Honduras

Elizabeth Wood, supervising attorney, unaccompanied minors program, Catholic Charities New York

Essey Workie, director, human services initiative, Migration Policy Institute (MPI)

Wendy Young, president, Kids In Need of Defense (KIND)