ICMC and U.S. Bishops partner to expand protection for unaccompanied minors<

Washington DC, 17 April 2014 (ICMC) - Since 2012 the number of unaccompanied minors arriving at the U.S./Mexico border has risen from 24,120 to an estimated 60,000. The majority come from the Central American countries of El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras, where they have been forced to flee gangs and high levels of generalized violence. The dangers follow them in their perilous journey through Mexico; by the time they reach the U.S., many have been subjected to beatings, rapes, starvation, kidnapping, and trafficking.

The International Catholic Migration Commission (ICMC) joined the delegation of the U.S Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Migration and Refugee Services (MRS) in November 2013 to call attention to the situation and to examine options to increase their protection at each step in their journey: whether at home, in transit through Mexico, upon arrival in the U.S., and after deportation/return. Bishop Mark Seitz of El Paso, Texas, a city near the Mexico border, led the delegation, which was organized by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Migration and Refugee Services (USCCB/MRS). Findings and recommendations were published in, “Mission to Central America”, which can be accessed by clicking here<

Jane Bloom, ICMC’s U.S. Head of Office, explains, “The mission really demonstrated the importance of identification and assessment for vulnerable children in mixed migrant flows. It can be truly lifesaving, perhaps the single most important intervention to assure their protection in a dangerous journey.”

Following the report’s release this January, ICMC, MRS and other delegates are taking action to implement many of the recommendations. For example, they plan to pilot a section of the US Trafficking Act which requires the performance of a “best interest determination” (BID) for unaccompanied and separated children suspected of being trafficked – a mandate which has never been implemented. The delegation interviewed a number of Central American child victims of trafficking in a shelter in Tapachula, Mexico, who would have benefited from a BID for a durable solution to ensure their protection. Currently, Mexico does not have a system or procedure to identify such children; and without a BID, the children are often sent back to their country of origin and right into the hands of traffickers.

The BID would include family tracing, assessment of all family members for potential reunification. It ensures that the individual needs of each child are taken into account.

The Central American mission represents the latest in what has been a long-term, productive ICMC-MRS partnership on behalf of unaccompanied children. Together, both organizations successfully collaborated (2002-2007) on a U.S. Office of Refugee Resettlement programme called “Safe Passages”; it was designed to increase protection for undocumented, unaccompanied migrant children apprehended and placed in the legal custody of the U.S. government. ICMC and MRS Field staff – all child welfare professionals – oversaw the best interests of these children, promoting their care, safety, and well-being and worked on their behalf in placement decisions.

The estimated number of unaccompanied children in all refugee flows is 2-5%. Yet many more are living in fragile situations, such as child-headed households or with elderly grandparents. Too many remain hidden, overlooked, and often on the sidelines of core protection assistance. The ICMC-MRS partnership is now working on ways to address the problem, building on expertise and commitment, to expand identification, assessment, and BIDs work for vulnerable minors on a global basis.

Photo credit: Children in Tecun Uman, Guatemala facing/bathing in Rio Suchiate, the river that seperates Guatemala from Mexico. Tecun Uman is a dangerous and important stop for migrants in their journey  

Mission-To-Central-America-FINAL-2.pdf (6.16 MB)