Contiguous Contingencies: The Case of Mexican Unaccompanied Migrant Children in US Custody

• In Event: 50410 - Institutional, Bureaucratic, and Media Control of Immigrants

Abstract

As a result of litigation and congressional action, the United States government is required to provide care for all migrant children who meet the legal definition of an “unaccompanied alien child.” However, children from countries contiguous to the United States (i.e., Mexico and Canada) do not automatically qualify for these protections, even when they otherwise satisfy the legal parameters for an unaccompanied migrant child. Children from Mexico and Canada must meet multiple additional criteria to qualify for the care and protections automatically extended to unaccompanied migrant children from non-contiguous countries. Given these distinct requirements, it is an open question if children from Mexico and Canada who qualify for admission into custody of the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR)––the government agency tasked with the care of unaccompanied migrant children––differ significantly from other unaccompanied migrant children in ORR custody. Utilizing a unique dataset of all unaccompanied migrant children admitted into ORR custody between 1 October 2014 and 1 March 2023, we ask: Are Mexican unaccompanied children in ORR custody different demographically from other unaccompanied children in ORR care? Do they experience different processing while in ORR custody and/or different discharge outcomes when released from ORR care? Overall, our analyses highlight disparate experiences in ORR custody for unaccompanied children from Mexico versus children from countries not contiguous with the United States. However, even these observed disparate experiences are likely conservative estimates, as significantly more unaccompanied children from Mexico are apprehended by DHS than are actually admitted into ORR custody.

Authors

• Melissa Alcaraz, Brigham Young University-Provo

• Jane Lilly Lopez, Brigham Young University-Provo

• Hayley Pierce, Brigham Young University

• Kif Augustine-Adams, Brigham Young University

• Sophie Smith, Brigham Young University