[video:https://vimeo.com/287533762 autoplay:1]
While the recent border crisis has highlighted how children migrating with a parent to the U.S. can be separated and detained alone by the federal government, over the last few years, there have been unprecedented surges of unaccompanied children (UC) migrating to the U.S. without a parent or legal guardian. For example, in 2012, 13,625 UCs were placed in federal immigration detention compared to almost 60,000 each year in 2014 and 2016.
During a webinar that we hosted on August 28, 2018, we shared information to help advocates understand how the immigration detention and deportation system works for unaccompanied children, whether they migrated alone or with a parent and were later separated. We helped demystify the maze of immigration policies and procedures that apply specifically to UCs, including a discussion of which children are classified as UCs, the federal agencies that interact with UCs, the detention and release process for UCs, how the federal government tracks UCs, and a summary of the options for UCs to defend against deportation.