Unaccompanied Alien Children: Policies and Issues

Publication Date: March 2007

Publisher: Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

Author(s):

Research Area: Population and demographics

Type:

Abstract:

Unaccompanied alien children (UAC) are aliens under the age of 18 who come to the United States without authorization or overstay their visa, and are without a parent or legal guardian. Most arrive at U.S. ports of entry or are apprehended along the border with Mexico. With the passage of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (HSA), UAC tasking was split between the newly created Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Refugee Removal (ORR). DHS was delegated the task of apprehension, transfer and repatriation of UAC, while ORR was tasked to provide long-term detention and foster placement. The issue for Congress concerns whether the current system provides adequate protections for unaccompanied alien children.

The debate over UAC policy has polarized in recent years between two camps: child welfare advocates arguing that the UAC are largely akin to refugees by being victims of abuse and economic circumstances, and immigration security advocates charging that unauthorized immigration is associated with increased community violence and illicit activities. Consequently, these two camps advocate very different policies for the treatment of UAC. This polarization is to some degree reflected in the tension between DHS and ORR, which despite attempts and congressional urging have failed to produce a Memorandum of Understanding between the two agencies.

In FY2006, the DHS's Customs and Border Protection apprehended 101,952 juveniles. The majority of these children were from Mexico and were returned voluntarily without being detained. DHS detained 7,746 UAC in this same year. In FY2006, 74% of UAC were male and 26% female, with 80% being between the ages of 15 and 18 and the remaining 20% being ages 0 to 14 years old. Three countries -- Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador -- accounted for 85% of the UAC detained in ORR custody.

Despite the implementation of the Flores Settlement Agreement (FSA), which governs the policy for the treatment of alien juveniles in government custody, advocacy groups have charged that DHS has failed to comply fully with the FSA. Among the concerns raised by these groups are allegations of deliberate misclassifications of UAC as "accompanied," inaccurate age determination techniques, the use of UAC as bait for apprehending unauthorized alien family members, and unsafe repatriation practices. Congress also expressed concerns over several of these issues in the FY2007 DHS Appropriations Act.

As an outgrowth of the debates regarding the treatment of UAC, child welfare advocates have contended that legal representation for UAC would prevent potential maltreatment and be in the best interests of the child. Security advocates argue that aliens should not be granted legal representation in civil proceedings at the government's expense, because it would drain valuable resources from the judicial system. Additionally, since the division of responsibility for handling UAC was divided between DHS and ORR, custodial disputes have occasionally surfaced. This report will be updated as warranted.