Unaccompanied Migrant Research Articles

Unaccompanied Migrant Minors and Shared Transnational Protection: Limits and Hopes

When talking about the reception of young migrants, “complexity management” is a quite recurring topic.This is due to the fact the migrant reception is always seen – and consequently investigated – as a “systemic network”, with a focus on the minor’s potential development and on the reception context, but without a real connection with the minor's personal history.“Talking about the reception of young migrants means talking about contaminations and conflicts for which shifting of attention is needed, as well as the ability to deal with situations involving events that are constantly evolving, as they take on meanings that are so different that are often incomprehensible, and almost not related to each other”.The idea to implement a shared protection process – although not always feasible – is definitely a new approach to child protection

Unaccompanied Migrant Minors at the Frontier of Human Rights. The Spanish Case

Protecting children is paramount for upholding the European values of respect for human rights, dignity and solidarity. It is also about enforcing European Union law and respecting the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union and international human rights law on the rights of the child. The existing EU legislation provides a framework for the protection of the rights of the child in migration, including reception conditions, dealing with their applications and integration. This article elaborates on provisions concerning the international protection system for minor migrants. It examines entry strategies put into place by young migrants facing the Spanish migration system. The first part examines the guidelines of the reception system for unaccompanied migrant minors arriving in Spain. An assessment of the Spanish arrangements for the reception of umms is carried out in the second part, focussing on three key aspects: refoulement at the border (pushback), age determination and guardianship.

Exploring the Responsibilities of Street-Level Bureaucrats through the Perspectives of Unaccompanied Migrant Youth and Their Sponsors

ABSTRACTBetween 2014 and 2019, more than 300,000 unaccompanied youth arrived at U.S.-Mexico border. Responsible for the implementation of immigration policy, street-level bureaucrats regularly interact with many of these youth as they navigate the immigration system. In each of these interactions along a complicated immigration process, street-level bureaucrats have a range of responsibilities with the youth. This paper considers the potential impact of street-level bureaucrats’ interactions with unaccompanied minors through the questions: 1) How do unaccompanied minors and their sponsors experience interactions with street-level bureaucrats related to the unaccompanied minors’ migration process; and 2) How do these experiences overlap with the responsibilities of public servants who implement US immigration policy?

Citizens of Nowhere? Paradoxes of State Parental Responsibility for Unaccompanied Migrant Children in the United Kingdom

AbstractSocial workers are confronted with a contradictory task: that of acting as state parents for unaccompanied asylum-seeking children, in an era of hostile migration policies and austerity. Mobilizing Young’s (2006) concept of ‘responsibility’, we ask: how is state parental responsibility towards unaccompanied minors given meaning, and with what consequences, for both frontline workers and unaccompanied minors alike? Drawing on interviews with frontline workers and unaccompanied minors in the United Kingdom (n = 107), we delineate three modes through which responsibility operates: namely outcomes, capacity and morality. We argue that the underlying logic of responsibility shifts the blame from sociopolitical structures to migrant children themselves, with crucial consequences for questions of social justice.

Determinants of English as language choice among Unaccompanied Migrant Children (UMC) in Makassar, Indonesia

The essence of language is human activity. Communication with language is carried out through two basic human activities; speaking and listening during the interaction in a group of people. Immigrants in Makassar city communicate with immigrant communities and Makassar people. They used English and Indonesia to communicate with others. The aims of this article were to find out determinant factors of English as language choice among Unaccompanied Migrant Children (UMC) in Makassar and why they used English as their language choice to communicate with other people out of them. The data were taken from UMC in the shelter under the auspices of Makassar’s Social Office and in the public area of Makassar. This research was a qualitative approach; it was from a sociolinguistic perspective and focuses its analysis with the language choice among UMC. This research showed that most immigrants chose English as their language choice since they were in Makassar because they have acquired better than other international language and it has been mastered naturally by doing social interaction among themselves and people outside their community. UMC had more difficulties to socialize with Indonesian than the adult of Immigrants. Other than their lack of language mastery, they also have the anxiety to adapt to other immigrants and Makassar people. English was used by UMC to show their status as a foreigner who lived in a multicultural situation. Language becomes a power for a human being and it becomes a social identity for language user in one community. During the interaction of UMC in Makassar city, the role of English as an International language is shown. 

Undocumented and unaccompanied: children of migration in the European Union and the United States

ABSTRACTThousands of minors are migrating unaccompanied to high-income countries. This special issue focuses on unaccompanied migrant minors from the Global South to Europe and the U.S. In this introduction, we seek to complement the contributions to this special issue by shedding light on what resources and experiences unaccompanied migrants arrive with, stressing these young migrants’ challenges at each stage prior to arrival and the challenges they face navigating the receiving context. We first clarify how the international community defines ‘unaccompanied minors’ or ‘unaccompanied children’. We then provide brief histories of unaccompanied minors in immigration flows to the U.S. and the EU. Next, we review the literature on the experiences of unaccompanied minors before, during, and after migration. Finally, we discuss key themes and insights from the articles provided in this special issue.

Best interests, durable solutions and belonging: policy discourses shaping the futures of unaccompanied migrant and refugee minors coming of age in Europe

ABSTRACTThis paper sheds light on the ambiguous position of children who migrate without a parent or guardian as they become adults in the European Union (EU). Through a critical analysis of three prevailing frames (‘best interests’, ‘durable solutions’ and ‘belonging’), which largely inform policy and practice related to this group, it explores the tension between policy assumptions and what we know of the lived experiences and aspirations of these young people. It ultimately reveals a policy framework shaped by a state-centric view of migration, a static conception of belonging and a bias towards a political preference for return. Such a stance underestimates young people’s agency and willingness to embrace risk in their efforts to secure a viable future. The net result is policy which fails to offer a ‘durable solution’ or act in the ‘best interests’ of individual migrant young people or of society as a whole.

Sexual exploitation of unaccompanied migrant and refugee boys in Greece: Approaches to prevention.

In this essay, Julie Freccero and colleagues discuss resources to prevent the sexual exploitation of unaccompanied and separated refugee boys in Greece.

Reunification is Not Enough: Assessing the Needs of Unaccompanied Migrant Youth

Unaccompanied migrant youth enter the United States daily to escape violence, political oppression, extreme poverty, and chronic instability in their native countries, or as victims of human trafficking. While some research has investigated why they leave their home countries, very little is known about what happens to them after they begin the process of community integration. The research reported in this article sought to understand how sponsors of children with no postrelease services access and use community services during their first year of integration into a new U.S. community. Findings highlight the need for a nuanced understanding of family reunification and community integration as dynamic, ongoing processes rather than onetime events, and for services to support such integration.

“Stop sending your kids across our border:” Discursively constructing the unaccompanied youth migrant

ABSTRACTThe recent migration of 65,000 children across the southwestern border, coupled with allegations of abuse by the U.S. Border Patrol, enables the investigation of an overlooked immigrant category: the unaccompanied youth migrant. Analyzing audience responses to news reports of the abuse, we find that established disparaging immigrant tropes apply, describing the children as an economic burden, disease carriers, and offspring of irresponsible families. We uncover two new themes: Youth migrants are channels whereby criminals may infiltrate the U.S., and manipulate legal authorities to remain in the U.S. Finally, we demonstrate how global compassion is strategically deployed to qualify harsh retaliatory measures.

Unaccompanied Migrant Children from Central America: Context, Causes, and Responses

This paper offers a comprehensive orientation to the recent surge in migration to the United States by unaccompanied children and families from the Northern Triangle countries of Central America: El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras. To inform advocates and others working on behalf of these new arrivals, this report seeks to: 1) Set the unprecedented expansion in the number of youth and family border crossings in the context of long-term migration trends from the region; 2) Present a detailed account of the country conditions (“push factors”) driving the exodus of Central American minors and families; and 3) Consider new arrivals’ prospects for remaining in the U.S. in light of available forms of deportation relief as well as current policy and advocacy responses.

Unaccompanied Migrant Adolescents in the Italian Context: Tailored Educational Interventions and Acculturation Stress

The migration experience is normally associated with acculturative stress; this condition assumes relevance when the migrant is a minor alone. The aim of this study was to explore perceptions about the migration process and educational interventions offered by host-community social workers. We conducted semi-structured interviews with 10 unaccompanied migrant adolescents that had finished their educational pathways in the traditional community centers. Interview results were analyzed using NVivo 9, based on the grounded theory. The main results of the study are related to the incompatibility between the educational intervention of host communities and minors’ projects and motivations.

Unaccompanied status as a risk factor in Vietnamese Amerasians.

This study prospectively evaluates the relationship between unaccompanied status and levels of psychological distress in a group of Vietnamese Amerasians both prior to, and during, migration. Its objective was to determine whether unaccompanied migrant status functions as an independent post-departure risk factor for psychological distress, or if unaccompanied migrants are already at increased risk for, and have higher levels of, psychological distress prior to departure and the acquisition of unaccompanied status. Seventy-five Vietnamese Amerasian youth were evaluated at two points during their migration utilizing Felsman's Personal Information Form, the Hopkins Symptom Checklist-25, and the Youth Self-Report. The first assessment was conducted prior to migration at the Amerasian Transit Center in Vietnam, and the second during migration at the Philippine Refugee Processing Center. Unaccompanied Amerasians were found to have significantly higher risk levels for, and significantly more symptoms of, psychological distress prior to migration than accompanied Amerasians. During migration the difference in levels of psychological distress between accompanied and unaccompanied Amerasians increased beyond that attributable to predeparture risk levels alone. This significant differential increase in levels of psychological distress among unaccompanied Amerasians is attributable to unaccompanied status. Unaccompanied migrant status thus appears to function both as an independent postdeparture risk factor for psychological distress and also as a marker for increased levels of risk and psychological distress prior to migration.