Translated by: Amanda Coe
Brenda and Daniel (names have been changed) are only 14 and 16 years old. Their frightened faces and weak expressions make them look smaller.
The siblings left their native San Salvador weeks ago. They wanted to get to Chicago, but could not continue because they traveled without immigration clearance. Brenda just wanted to meet her mother, who emigrated to the U.S. when she was a baby. Now, they wait in a detention center for the Mexican government to define their destination.
Each year, thousands of young people cross the border into Mexico and join the thousands more who try to reach the United States in search of their relatives, better economic conditions, or escape from violence. Many are accompanied by an adult, but a high percentage travel without this company.
According to data from Mexico’s Secretariat of Government Relations, between 2013 and 2015, the number of cases of unaccompanied migrant children increased 333% in those detected by immigration authorities (5,596 and 18,650 cases respectively).
In 2015, 98% of the children unaccompanied by an adult came from Central America: Guatemala (55.6%), Honduras (22.7%), and El Salvador (20.3%).
At the same time, more than 11 thousand Mexican migrant children and adolescents were returned from the United States; 84% (9,841) of whom were traveling without an adult. They are primarily teenagers aged 12 to 17, but there are also children under 10 making the dangerous route.
To develop comprehensive care for migrant children, UNICEF is collaborating with government institutions, civil society organizations and other UN agencies. They have trained shelter personnel and provided technical assistance in the implementation of new care models and procedures for children and adolescents to not stay in immigration detention centers but rather in shelters with access to health care, education, recreation and psycho-emotional support.
This type of support is essential and should be provided regularly in the context of violence, family separation, and anxiety that unaccompanied migrant children suffer and flee from; on their journey, they also face accidents, trafficking, possible recruitment for organized crime, abuse, and exploitation.
More than half of the unaccompanied migrant children from Central American who are found in Mexico are fleeing violence, death threats and risks posed by crime. Under international law, they may apply for international protection measures such as asylum and supplementary protection. To determine if they require such protection, UNICEF with other UN agencies and the Mexican Commission for Aid to Refugees have developed a protocol that will assist staff through interviews and conversations with the children.
Regarding care for Mexican migrant children returned across the border, UNICEF joined the Secretariat of Foreign Relations’ efforts in developing a protocol with tools to help consular staff talk with children, avoiding victimizing them again, but getting information to provide the necessary protection.
The rights of children who are affected by migration are protected by the Convention on the Rights of the Child, other international treaties, and Mexico's new General Law on the Rights of Children and Adolescents. These treaties must be met by States Parties, regardless of the child’s migration status, origin, sex, nationality, or age.
Children who migrate have dreams, want to study, and have a full life; it is their right.
*Isabel Crowley is the UNICEF representative in Mexico.