ALIA. The Inclusion of Unaccompanied Minors in Italy

The article addresses the issue of legal guardianship in the context of return of unaccompanied migrant children within the broader perspective of child migration. Despite their apparent greater vulnerability, unaccompanied migrant children are subject to highly politicized debates on immigration policies and child welfare systems taking place in host countries. The article suggests that discussions should move on and tackle the actual challenges faced by legal guardians in host countries, as well as countries of origin, which nowadays impede returns of unaccompanied migrant children. Difficulties should be examined in an adequate and timely manner, in line with the best interests of the child. Consistent with this proposed approach, the article discusses the role of legal guardians in the context of the return of unaccompanied migrant children, taking into consideration the relevant international instruments and standards and analysing the concrete challenges legal guardians face in the field of integration in host countries and return to and reintegration in countries of origin. The analysis draws on a review of existing literature in this area, as well as on the experience and data gathered by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) through internal reviews carried out in 2009 and 2012. A comparative analysis of the situation in selected host countries and countries of origin addresses cross-cutting issues affecting legal guardians at both ends of the return process. The article concludes with a number of recommendations to overcome the current challenges, including the need for clearer standards and guidelines for legal guardians in the context of return of unaccompanied migrant children, greater operational cooperation between legal guardians in host countries and countries of origin, and, finally, a stronger possibility for unaccompanied migrant children and former unaccompanied migrant children to participate in the discussion around appropriate procedures and standards, based on their own experiences in the migration process.

The “Invisible Children”: Uncertain Future of Unaccompanied Minor Migrants in Europe

In the US, unaccompanied migrant children and adolescents (hereinafter referred to as children) are predominantly from Central America's Northern Triangle. While unaccompanied migrant children are at high risk for psychiatric sequelae due to complex traumatic exposures, longitudinal investigations of psychiatric distress after resettlement are lacking. To identify factors associated with emotional distress and longitudinal changes in emotional distress among unaccompanied migrant children in the US. For this retrospective cohort study, the 15-item Refugee Health Screener (RHS-15) was administered between January 1, 2015, and December 31, 2019, to unaccompanied migrant children as part of their medical care to detect emotional distress. Follow-up RHS-15 results were included if they were completed before February 29, 2020. Median follow-up interval was 203 days (IQR, 113-375 days). The study was conducted in a federally qualified health center that provides medical, mental health, and legal services. Unaccompanied migrant children who completed the initial RHS-15 were eligible for analysis. Data were analyzed from April 18, 2022, to April 23, 2023. Traumatic events before migration, during migration, during detention, and after resettlement in the US. Emotional distress, including symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder, anxiety, and depressive symptoms, as indicated by the RHS-15 (ie, score ≥12 on items 1-14 or ≥5 on item 15). In total, 176 unaccompanied migrant children completed an initial RHS-15. They were primarily from Central America's Northern Triangle (153 [86.9%]), were mostly male (126 [71.6%]), and had a mean (SD) age of 16.9 (2.1) years. Of the 176 unaccompanied migrant children, 101 (57.4%) had screen results above the positive cutoff. Girls were more likely to have positive screen results than boys (odds ratio, 2.48 [95% CI, 1.15-5.34]; P = .02). Follow-up scores were available for 68 unaccompanied migrant children (38.6%). On the follow-up RHS-15, most scored above the positive cutoff (44 [64.7%]). Three-quarters of unaccompanied migrant children who scored above the positive cutoff initially continued to have positive scores at follow-up (30 of 40), and half of those with negative screen scores initially had positive scores at follow-up (14 of 28). Female vs male unaccompanied migrant children (unstandardized β = 5.14 [95% CI, 0.23-10.06]; P = .04) and initial total score (unstandardized β = 0.41 [95% CI, 0.18-0.64]; P = .001) were independently associated with increased follow-up RHS-15 total score. The findings suggest that unaccompanied migrant children are at high risk for emotional distress, including symptoms of depression, anxiety, and posttraumatic stress. The persistence of emotional distress suggests that unaccompanied migrant children would benefit from ongoing psychosocial and material support after resettlement.

Unaccompanied immigrant and refugee children are generally seen as young people (under the age of eighteen) who travel across borders to a new country without a parent or legal guardian. Across the world, these young people are subject to different legal definitions, rights, and treatment in the country of arrival. Some countries use other terms to refer to these children, such as unaccompanied alien children, unaccompanied immigrant children, unaccompanied children, and separated children. Researchers similarly use a compilation of these terms. The definitions that describe these vulnerable children are similar, yet they vary from one country to another. The majority include the age of eighteen years as the maximum age for which a child would qualify as an unaccompanied minor. The majority specify that the immigrant should arrive without legal guardians, but some countries, such as Australia, explicitly state that siblings and adult relatives over the age of eighteen would prohibit the child from being unaccompanied by policy. Some countries combine unaccompanied and separated children together, and others consider “separated” to be a different category. The nuance here is that separated children are apart from their biological parents during migration but intend to reunify and are often staying in the care of extended family members during that time. Unaccompanied immigrant and refugee children are protected by both international and country-specific policies. Many countries around the world are party to the United Nations (UN) Convention on the Rights of the Child and would argue that unaccompanied immigrant and refugee children who arrive to their country should be given rights as outlined in this document. This becomes inherently complicated when countries have policies that criminalize immigrants rather than protect the status of unaccompanied immigrant and refugee children seeking assistance. While there are protections, there are also many instances in which people, governments, and policies discriminate against unaccompanied immigrant and refugee children and treat them poorly.

This study presents the first effort to assess unaccompanied migrant children’s access to free and low-cost attorneys in the United States at the national, state, and county levels. Since 2021, over 544,000 unaccompanied children have entered the United States and been apprehended along the southwest border. The vast majority of these children are transferred to the Office of Refugee Resettlement and released to sponsors across the country while their immigration cases are processed. While unaccompanied children are not guaranteed the right to government appointed counsel, a broad body of research indicates that having legal representation greatly increases the likelihood that a child will identify a form of legal relief and will have a legal outcome that allows them to remain in the country. Access to legal representation additionally connects children with trusted adults and increases opportunities to identify and address instances where children are being abused or exploited. However, a large percentage of unaccompanied children still lack legal representation. To date, little research has explored the factors that support or inhibit unaccompanied children’s access to representation. This study draws on research that shows that geographic proximity to attorneys is one key factor affecting the likelihood that immigrants will obtain counsel and research that demonstrates dramatic unevenness in legal counsel nationally to assess the prevalence of free and low-cost immigration attorneys in relation to where unaccompanied children are released to sponsors. Our findings demonstrate an overall lack of free and low-cost immigration attorneys in relation to the number of unaccompanied children in need of legal representation, with only one attorney for every 137 children nationally. Moreover, in assessing attorney to child ratios at the state-scale, we demonstrate that in 43 states (86 percent of the states in the country) the number of children to attorneys exceeds reasonable caseloads. Importantly, these estimates do not account for the fact that not all free and low-cost immigration attorneys take on children’s cases nor for the overall demand for immigration legal services among the more than three million individuals facing deportation in the United States. In turn, while sobering, our estimates likely significantly over-estimate children’s actual access to representation across the United States. Based on these findings, we offer the following policy recommendations: Federal, state, local, and philanthropic organizations should strategically invest in workforce development to grow the number of free and low-cost immigration attorneys in general and specifically in areas where the lack is particularly high. Workforce development programs should both engage new law school graduates and individuals working in private practice who may be looking to enter the public interest sector. Policy makers, funders, and organizational leaders should invest in and support holistic representation models in order to reduce the burdens experienced by attorneys and foster retention in the field. Governmental and philanthropic organizations should invest in additional research and program evaluation in order to more fully understand the need for representation among unaccompanied children and barriers to and facilitators of accessing representation. These efforts should go hand-in-hand with improvements in data quality and sharing among governmental and non-governmental stakeholders. The federal government should immediately reinstate all contracts and programs related to providing legal orientation and representation to unaccompanied migrant children in line with Congressionally appropriated funds allocated for these purposes to both ensure children’s rights under the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act (TVPRA) are realized and that the existing (already insufficient) workforce of trained and experienced attorneys equipped to represent unaccompanied children is not eroded.

Sexual abuse and exploitation of unaccompanied migrant children in Greece: Identifying risk factors and gaps in services during the European migration crisis

UK statutory guidance for practitioners suggests that indebtedness is an area where safeguarding red flags should be raised and action taken to minimize the risk of exploitation. Yet, our research shows that unaccompanied migrant children have complex indebted relationships, which can range from extractive to connective. Drawing on interviews with unaccompanied children, we show that these indebted relationships can include financial debt to smugglers, responsibilities to support transnational families, as well as social obligations to peers and others. Their accounts present a nuanced understanding of the taboo nature of indebted relationships, not to be shared with the practitioners in their lives. This is due, in part, to the potential threat of reporting to the Home Office, which might jeopardize their immigration status. In response to this weaponization of social care, we demonstrate how children turn to peer networks of support, creating their own alternative forms of social protection. In so doing, we complicate critiques of adultification, which traditionally highlight the ways that racially minoritized children may be treated as adults—to their detriment. In so doing, we show that because indebtedness is normatively linked to adulthood, unaccompanied children's hopes and fears may be rendered unsayable and therefore unsupportable in social care, all in the name of safeguarding.

Although children have migrated unaccompanied for centuries, the past decade has brought an increasing visibility of unaccompanied children in the media and among policymakers. An unaccompanied migrant child is defined as an individual under the age of eighteen years old who migrates across international borders and is separated from their parent or legal/customary guardian. Depending on national and regional laws, other terms include unaccompanied asylum-seeking children, independent child migrants, unaccompanied refugees, or separated children. The term “unaccompanied child” is a legal definition, not a lived experience. Often presumed alone, independent, or shorn of kinship ties, research shows that unaccompanied children are members of families and communities who may rely on migration as a means to escape violence or conflict, to navigate precarity or marginalization, or to advance individual or familial migratory projects. That is, unaccompanied children are not simple victims or dependent minors; they enlist their social agency to navigate conditions not of their own choosing. Unaccompanied child migration exists at the lived interstices of global discourses on race, gender, class, and ideologies of childhood and parenthood that are created and re-created through social structures and institutions. The fields of anthropology, sociology, social work, and legal and childhood studies predominantly have focused on the experiences of young migrants in so-called destination nations such as the United States and European Union countries and the policies and practices which govern their im/mobility. Whereas the legal category of “unaccompanied child” predominates in the Global North, only following the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration in 2018 has the term been taken up in other regions of the world. As a result, the literature specific to unaccompanied child migration is geographically uneven. Key areas of inquiry about unaccompanied child migration include their hostile reception in countries of arrival; often-indecipherable legal systems; the humanitarian sector’s involvement in the detention and deportation of children; differing conceptualizations of care and caregiving; and the mental health consequences of past traumas, present challenges, and future uncertainties. Scholarship has only recently emerged on the experiences of unaccompanied children and youth in countries of transit and origin or return. This literature provides critical historical, social, and cultural context to the causes and meanings of migration, individual and familial decision-making processes, the violence young people encounter en route, and their experiences in the aftermath of deportation. The socio-legal literature challenges the false dichotomy between voluntary and forced migration that is reproduced in policy and humanitarian aid and additionally focuses on the best interests and rights of children.

The endings of journeys: A qualitative study of how Greece’s child protection system shapes unaccompanied migrant children’s futures

The number of unaccompanied children (UC) arriving in the United States (U.S.) from other countries has increased significantly over the past decade. UC report high trauma exposure and greater posttraumatic stress symptoms compared with youth who immigrate with caregivers. Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT) has demonstrated preliminary effectiveness with UC. However, few studies have treated U.S.-based samples of UC, who emigrate primarily from Central America. One hundred thirty-eight UC were referred for treatment and 129 completed a pretreatment assessment including the Child and Adolescent Trauma Screen (CATS) and the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). Most UC were from Central America (n = 109; 79.0%) and resided in government facilities (n = 76; 55.1%). One hundred twenty-two youth began TF-CBT, had an average of 9.71 sessions (SD = 9.3, range: 1-48), and 41.8% (n = 51) completed treatment. One hundred four youth completed a brief, six-item progress monitoring measure of trauma symptoms, for which 84 had at least two observations during treatment. UC endorsed 3.80 traumatic events on average (SD = 2.38). High rates of violence, physical and sexual abuse, and serious injury were reported. There were significant improvements on most self-report rating scales (p < .05); within-subjects Cohen's d's ranged from .07 to 1.03 for pre- to posttreatment assessments and was d = .44 for the progress monitoring measure. Therapists reported on TF-CBT modifications for UC, including discussing mental health beliefs, navigating roles and relationships, tailoring treatment examples, exploring coping strategies, and addressing immigration factors. Preliminary findings support the utility of TF-CBT with UC. Implications for implementation and cultural modifications are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Abstract: Through detailed analysis of archival records, Anita Casavantes Bradford traces the history of the clinical, academic, and popular understandings of trauma as it influenced US immigration policy for unaccompanied migrant children during the twentieth century. She questions why adults charged with the care of unaccompanied minors have "(mis)understood … (mis)managed … and (mis)represented" children as traumatized, both unintentionally and deliberately, in order to advance adult objectives. Casavantes Bradford provides a historical overview of US immigration and refugee polices since the 1930s as applied to unaccompanied migrant children. This history also traces the evolution of clinical and popular definitions of trauma and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)—officially recognized by psychologists in 1980—and suggests that policies for managing and mitigating trauma among unaccompanied minors often led to negative consequences. These polices, above all, were often based on geopolitical and domestic political considerations rather than the welfare of children, according to Casavantes Bradford. Thus, during the 1980s, unaccompanied minors from Haiti and Central America reaching the United States faced detention and deportation, while Sudanese "lost boys" were granted preferential treatment that aligned with US national security interests in Africa. Since the 1930s, markers of difference such as race, class, and religion have also played fundamental roles in which unaccompanied minors have been given the "right to be traumatized" and resettlement. Casavantes Bradford cautions researchers against interpreting migrant children's experiences through biased or ahistorical notions of trauma that oversimplify individual young people's experiences and their potential resilience. Historians and others should critically examine their own assumptions when studying trauma and the experiences of unaccompanied migrant children.

BackgroundThousands of children migrate to Europe each year in search of safety and the promise of a better life. Many of them transited through Serbia in 2018. Children journey alone or along with their family members or caregivers. Accompanied migrant children (AMC) and particularly unaccompanied migrant children (UMC) have specific needs and experience difficulties in accessing services. Uncertainty about the journey and daily stressors affect their physical and mental health, making them one of the most vulnerable migrant sub-populations. The aim of the study is to describe the demographic, health profile of UMC and AMC and the social services they accessed to better understand the health and social needs of this vulnerable population.MethodsWe conducted a retrospective, descriptive study using routinely collected program data of UMC and AMC receiving medical, mental and social care at the Médecins sans Frontières clinic, in Belgrade, Serbia from January 2018 through January 2019.ResultsThere were 3869 children who received medical care (1718 UMC, 2151 AMC). UMC were slightly older, mostly males (99%) from Afghanistan (82%). Skin conditions were the most prevalent among UMC (62%) and AMC (51%). Among the 66 mental health consultations (45 UMC, 21 AMC), most patients were from Afghanistan, with 98% of UMC and 67% of AMC being male. UMC as well as AMC were most likely to present with symptoms of anxiety (22 and 24%). There were 24 UMC (96% males and 88% from Afghanistan) that received social services. They had complex and differing case types. 83% of UMC required assistance with accommodation and 75% with accessing essential needs, food and non-food items. Several required administrative assistance (12.5%) and nearly a third (29%) legal assistance. 38% of beneficiaries needed medical care. Most frequently provided service was referral to a state Centre for social welfare.ConclusionOur study shows that unaccompanied and accompanied migrant children have a lot of physical, mental health and social needs. These needs are complex and meeting them in the context of migration is difficult. Services need to better adapt by improving access, flexibility, increasing accommodation capacity and training a qualified workforce.

In March 2014 we spent a week on Christmas Island as medical consultants to the Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) Inquiry into the Impact of Immigration Detention on Children. The visit involved three Human Rights Commission staff as well as the authors, paediatrician Karen Zwi and child psychiatrist Sarah Mares, representing the Royal Australasian College of Physicians and the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists respectively. Using interpreters, we spoke to over 40 unaccompanied children and service providers to ascertain processes and policies and to give feedback about detainees of immediate concern. We would like to honour the voices of the detainees; we have used their exact words where possible. In a separate paper, we focus on the families and children detained in immigration acilities on Christmas Island. Unaccompanied children are children under the age of 18 years who are seeking asylum from threatened or experienced danger. They arrive unaccompanied by a parent, legal guardian or adult relative over the age of 21 years. On arrival to Australia, unaccompanied children by law become the legal wards of the Department of Immigration and Border Protection (DIBP). The role of a legal guardian is commonly regarded internationally as one who ‘stands in loco parentis to the child’, which includes making decisions regarding the best interests of the child and providing for the child’s emotional and material needs. In Australia, the Minister’s role tends to be nominal without practical assistance offered to the children, which has been described as leaving them not only unaccompanied but also unrepresented. A DIPB officer is appointed locally as the children’s ‘Delegated Guardian’ as discussed below. Most unaccompanied children leave their homes as a desperate measure in search of protection, education and employ ment, and to contribute to the welfare of their family. They have often embarked on dangerous journeys, experienced war, the death of family members, persecution, violence, sexual abuse, escape from forced recruitment into armed organisations and forced domestic labour. These experiences occur during critical developmental periods, thus placing them at risk of mental health problems. Research is limited to a few cross-sectional or on-arrival studies, which have shown that around 25–50% have emotional and behavioural problems, anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), at higher rates than in accompanied asylum seeker children. However, consistent with other studies on refugee children, the majority of unaccompanied children score below clinical cut-offs for psychiatric disorder, thus displaying a marked resilience. The severity of psychiatric symptoms is likely to increase with more traumatic events experienced prior to forced migration, demonstrating the cumulative impact on well-being of traumatic exposure. Children exposed to adversity following migration, particularly those placed in prolonged detention, are more severely affected. Studies show increased symptoms for those exposed to rioting, fires, violence and self-harm attempts by parents or others in detention. Rapid resolution of asylum claims reduces the duration of uncertainty and associated distress for children, whereas insecure asylum status is associated with a range of psychological problems that can have long-lasting effects. Prompt access to services catering for physical and psychological health is important, as are long-term stability of residence and socially supportive environments. It is also known that PTSD symptoms are increased in lower-support living arrangements suggesting that foster family living and high support may improve outcomes.

Unaccompanied migrant children in the USA are subject to the immigration policies of the USA, as well as to the individuals who implement immigration policies. The interactions between unaccompanied migrant children and those who implement immigration policy are particularly important, as they mediate unaccompanied migrant children's experience in the USA and their final outcome in the country. However, these interactions are hard to understand, primarily because of limited access to both children and public servants. In this paper, we use qualitative data to explore potential factors for these interactions during a six-month period in 2014. We identify six themes relevant to children's migration process and demonstrate how these themes can act as factors in these interactions through the ways that unaccompanied migrant children employ their agency and public servants use their discretion.

Objective: This paper shows the violence faced by unaccompanied migrant children and adolescents in Mexico, a matter that influences their recruitment by organized crime. It is based on the question: What circumstances expose unaccompanied minors to be recruited into organized crime? Practices and features of this sector and what makes it a vulnerable group to multiple violence are identified. Methodology: The analysis of national and international documentary sources was used to realize about the violence faced by unaccompanied migrant children; as well as what they experience when they are recruited by criminal groups during their journey. Results: The vulnerability of unaccompanied children benefits the incorporation and recruitment into criminal groups, either because of their need for survival, the vulnerability generated by displacement or as an apparent means to achieve a better life. Conclusions: It is shown that unaccompanied migrant children are victims of multiple types of violence which represents a lot of opportunities for organized crime and the omissions of the State to guarantee the fulfillment of their rights during their transit through the country.