Immigrant children

When families decide to migrate to the US, it is because they want to build a better future for the upcoming generations. Immigrants want to prevent danger to their children and often take asylum in another country to flee difficult situations in their native countries.

For the most part, immigrant families choose to come to the US with their minor children in order to apply for residence (permanent or temporary) for the entire family.

What about minors at the border?

Since he waiting times for asylum cases are long, currently, the government is arresting minor children at the border while they await a response to the asylum request.

Children are forcibly separated from their families and sent to juvenile detention centers.

The US is the country with most children captured today and is the largest world record in history.

The figures

The US Immigration and Customs Enforcement Service (ICE) reported in November 2019 the numbers of children detained at the borders of the US.

The numbers exceed 100,000 children in captivity in juvenile detention centers.

More than 250 children are under the age of 5 and have been separated from their parents as well.

The forced separation of minors from their families began in July 2017 after a decision made by Trump’s government.

These figures were the last report regarding this issue. No further notification has been received so far of the numbers of children detained at the borders.

Alarming situation due to family separation

The most important aspects to highlight with the situation of minor immigrants are:

• Parents do not know where their children are after being separated.
• 18-year-olds are being detained in regular prisons with adults.
• Multiple deaths of minors have been reported in the border areas.
• Cases of rape and abuse of minors have been reported.
• Children do not brush their teeth or bathe for several days.
• Sometimes they must cross the border alone and stay in the country without any family contact.
• The children are being sent to centers located anywhere in the country, which separates them from their relatives even more.

What is the government doing to fix this situation?

In February 2020, the government announced that to expedite Asylum requests from minor immigrants, a new modality was to be implemented in which children have contact with immigration judges through a video call.

The judge decides through the call if the child is qualified to access the asylum benefit.

This measure has several possible results:

• This video-calling process may be a good strategy to avoid keeping immigrant children locked up in overcrowded youth centers.
• It could speed up the asylum application process since there are thousands of immigrants waiting for a response.
• It is a very impersonal way of making a decision that affects the rest of an immigrant’s life.

Consequences of the detention of children

Many experts talk about the psychological impact that they are causing children when they are separated from their families. They are going to grow up with almost irreversible trauma and possibly become a social burden over time, which is what Trump’s government supposedly wants to avoid.

The measures to control immigration are arbitrary and can even take advantage of human rights and the dignity of life.

If you have any questions about an immigration issue or relating to a case you may have currently in Progress, then please don’t hesitate to contact us for a FREE Consultation with one of our expert immigration attorneys. Alternatively, simply call Motion Law today at: (202) 918-1799