Changes in Unaccompanied Immigrant Children Laws in the US - Is the current law realistic

Changes in Unaccompanied Immigrant Children Laws in the U .S

TABLE OF CONTENTS

HISTORY OF IMMIGRATION LAW REGARDING UNACCOMPANIED MINOR CHILDREN

TITLE PAGE

Introduction .1

Reasons Why Children Leave Their Countries of Origin . 3

OVERVIEW OF ASYLUM LAW . 4

Application of the 1951 Convention to National Laws . 4

CHILD-SPECIFIC APPROACH TO ASYLUM . 5

The Convention on the Rights of the Child

1 . International Rights of the Child . 5

2 . Best Interests of the Child . 6

Congressional Mandate . 7

Congressional and

Agency Policy Changes . 8

Judicial Intervention . 10

U .S . Immigration Policy . 12

II . FEASABILITY OF REALISTIC POSSIBILITY THAT THE NEW LAW (REQUIRING LEGAL REPRESENTATION ) WILL BE ENFORCED AND THAT THE RIGHTS OF CHILDREN REALLY WILL BE PROTECTED

United States ' Asylum Process . 18

Affirmative Asylum . 18

Defensive Asylum . 20

PLIGHT OF THE CHILDREN : CONDITIONS OF UNACCOMPANIED ALIEN CHILDREN IN THE UNITED STATES . 21

Legal Representation . 21

Detention . 23

Office of Refugee Resettlement . 24

CONCLUSION AND FINDINGS 26

BIBLIOGRAPHY .31

HISTORY OF IMMIGRATION LAW REGARDING UNACCOMPANIED MINOR CHILDREN

Introduction

U .S . immigration policy is being made in an age of rights . Civil rights have been a central part of the discourse shaping the debate over U .S immigration policy since at least the 1960s . Prior to this time widespread racism made a restrictive national immigration policy politically viable . However , since the 1960s , the idea that fairness and non-discrimination should fundamentally shape U .S . immigration policy has predominated in the immigration policy debate in this country . As a result , the U .S . government has faced increased difficulty in passing effective restrictions on either illegal or legal immigration

Some of the children seeking refuge in the United States are alone , while others may be traveling with relatives or other adults . The children in the latter group may seem accompanied however , the adults with whom they travel are not necessarily qualified to care for them Recognizing the need for special treatment of these children , the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR ) defines unaccompanied children as "children under eighteen years of age who have been separated from both parents and are not being cared for by an adult who by law or custom , is responsible to do so . In view of recent experience , however , UNHCR recognizes that even though many children have been separated from their legal or customary caregiver , they may not actually be unaccompanied . Although such children may be traveling or living with an adult , sometimes even an extended family member , they still face many of the same risks encountered by unaccompanied refugee children . Thus , the broader term "separated children " which refers to "children under eighteen years of age who are separated from both parents or from their previous legal or customary primary caregiver better expresses some of the potential protection needs of these children

U .S . law combines both of the above approaches although U .S . law uses the term "unaccompanied alien child " the concepts embodied in it reflect the broader idea of "separated children " Under the U .S definition , an "unaccompanied...