Each year, tens of thousands children arrive in the United States without a parent or guardian. Many are deported within days of arrival, but several thousand each year are placed in immigration proceedings. They come as refugees escaping war, persecution, or abuse such as forced recruitment of child soldiers, child labor, forced child marriages, female genital mutilation, sexual servitude, or slavery. Just like adults, these unaccompanied minors arrive in the U.S. on airplanes or by making dangerous border crossings. Some are trafficked into the U.S. and then escape their captors.

When these children are picked up by immigration officers, they are placed in the custody of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR). ORR is responsible for the children until they are reunited with family, granted legal status, or sent home to their country of origin.

NIJC Policy Priorities for Defending Unaccompanied Immigrant Children

Unaccompanied Alien Child Protection Act