Unaccompanied Minors and the US-Mexico Border

Written By Lydia Phillips
Image Source: Link

Image Source: Link

You may be seeing news about a so-called "border crisis" or "surge" of asylum seekers-- particularly, unaccompanied minors (UACs)-- crossing the U.S.-Mexico border. This coverage somewhat accurately reflects an increase in people asking for protection at our southern border, which began slightly before Biden took office. However, it's important to note that while the Biden Administration has taken steps to admit asylum seekers with active cases under Trump's Migrant Protection Protocols (a.k.a. the "Remain in Mexico" policy), Trump's Title 42 policy (a.k.a. the COVID-19 border closure) remains in full effect. There are very few exceptions to Title 42, which irrationally scapegoats asylum seekers as public health threats to deny them entry into the U.S. and the ability to access critical systems of protection. Biden's lack of action against Trump's Title 42 is shameful and inconsistent with the public health-centered, immigrant-friendly messaging promoted through his campaign. The media has an obligation to hold Biden accountable to these promises and to tell the full story of what's going on at the border-- namely, that the vast majority of those seeking protection are still being turned away.

Unaccompanied minors are one of the few exceptions to Title 42 as a result of litigation spearheaded by national advocacy organizations. Over the past three months, a record number of UACs have presented themselves at our southern border in hopes of seeking asylum.

The root causes of these current waves of migration, as well as the Biden Administration's response to such waves, are incredibly complex and layered.

This increase can partially be attributed to news about Trump's departure from office and high hope about Biden's leadership, worsened economic and political conditions in Central America as a result of COVID-19, a series of recent natural disasters in Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua, and of course, ongoing forms of social and political persecution in Central and South America. It's true that this increase in people attempting to cross the border is overwhelming the systems in place to safely and sufficiently process new arrivals-- but it must be contextualized by an understanding of how the Trump Administration systematically undermined the physical and legal infrastructure designed to protect asylum seekers, as well as an understanding of the normalcy of migration spikes at the southern border. We've seen increases in UACs seeking protection before, particularly under conditions similar to those described above, and we must understand this to be the reasonable response to conditions of violence in Central America in which the U.S. is deeply implicated.

You may also have heard of the proposed shelter for UACs at the Glorieta Adventure Camp in Glorieta, NM, which was both announced and halted earlier this month. This proposed shelter would have been under the authority of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the agency that oversees the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR), which houses and coordinates sponsorship placement for UACs who are seeking asylum. Generally, UACs are supposed to land in ORR custody within 72 hours of being processed by CBP. This is largely because CBP processing stations have been deemed ill-equipped to hold children for longer than 72 hours.

Glorieta, NM

Glorieta, NM

However, the current increase in UACs crossing the border, combined with the need for ORR shelters to limit capacity in accordance with CDC guidelines, has resulted in widespread delays in transfers from CBP stations to ORR custody. This is where facilities like the one proposed in Glorieta come into play-- HHS and FEMA have been opening a handful of what they call "Emergency Intake Shelters," or shelters that take in UACs from CBP custody and hold them until longer-term ORR bed space becomes available. We do not know if or when the Glorieta Adventure Camps will receive a finalized HHS contract for Emergency Intake Shelter services, but we will do our best to update our community as we hear more.

 

The root causes of these current waves of migration, as well as the Biden Administration's response to such waves, are incredibly complex and layered. This overview barely scratches the surface, and it's clear that the national path to meaningful reform is dauntingly long. We encourage you to check out updates from our friends at the American Immigration Council, National Immigrant Justice Center, Human Rights First, Detention Watch Network, Innovation Law Lab, and Kids in Need of Defense as all of this continues to unfold. At NMILC, we believe that the Biden Administration must strike down Title 42 and allow our most vulnerable neighbors to access critical safeguards, ensure an efficient and effective UAC sponsorship placement process, expedite the processing of those in MPP, expand relief for those subjected to MPP who no longer have active cases, phase out administrative detention for immigrants seeking asylum, and comprehensively rebuild and expand the protections dismantled by previous presidential administrations. These are the true immigration crises that we believe our country is facing.

Published April 12, 2021
Written by Emma Kahn, NMILC’s Detention Program Coordinator.

 

Help us respond to the ongoing attacks against immigrants’ rights and to advance equity and justice for everyone, regardless of their immigration status.

Lydia Phillips
Previous

March Volunteer Spotlight
Next

2021 Design Contest Extended to May 31!