Unaccompanied Minors Part 1: The who, what and why

In my line of work, I have the opportunity to work with students from all over the world and all walks of life. Lately in the media, there has been a lot of attention given to unaccompanied minors coming into our country and enrolling in our public schools. The vast majority of the public has little or no understanding of the circumstances under which these students are coming unto the United States. My goal here is to let you know a little more about these unaccompanied youth, where they're coming from, why they're here, and where they're going. 

Who are unaccompanied minors?
In recent years, we've seen a large surge of minors coming alone to the United States. Many of these children are caught crossing the border illegally and taken into custody by ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement). In the past, the vast majority of these students have been high-school aged boys, however recent years have seen a surge in younger children and females coming as well.

Where are they coming from?
Currently, most of these youths are coming from Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador. 

Why are they coming to the US?
The countries that these children are coming from are torn by violence, war, poverty and corruption. Homicide and violence rates have dramatically risen in the "Northern Triangle" of Central America in the past few years. The Northern Triangle is comprised of Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador.

Many of these students have been victimized by organized crime (gangs or cartels)- many have lost their homes, family members, family businesses. They have no  hope left in their homes, and many children are threatened with death if they refuse to join the gangs or cartels. Others have been removed from their home countries by force and have been trafficked illegally into the United States. All of these kids simply want a good education and a better life.This is an excellent video to explain a little more:

What happens once they get here?
By law, minors coming from countries that do not border the US are required to be handed over to the HHS (Health and Human Services). HHS is required to house these students, feed them, provide medical care until they can be handed over to the custody of a sponsor- usually a family member- until they can undergo legal immigration proceedings. They are housed in large facilities with many other children. They may spend months there before a family member or acceptable sponsor can be found. 

The children are then released into the custody of their sponsor. The sponsor must be able to care for the physical and mental well-being of the child, as well as pass a background check. The sponsor must also agree to ensure the child’s presence at all future immigration proceedings. They also must agree to ensure the minor reports to ICE for removal from the United States if an immigration judge issues a removal order or voluntary departure order. 

Where are they going?
These children go to live with the individuals or families who sponsor them. Below is a table from HHS showing how many unaccompanied minors have been released to each state with a sponsor since January 1.

State	# of UAC
Alabama	515
Alaska	5
Arizona	203
Arkansas	209
California	3909
Colorado	263
Connecticut	394
Delaware	141
District of Columbia	238
Florida	3809
Georgia	1412
Hawaii	8
Idaho	13
Illinois	377
Indiana	309
Iowa	159
Kansas	207
Kentucky	284
Louisiana	1275
Maine	12
Maryland	2804
Massachusetts	989
Michigan	124
Minnesota	202
Mississippi	202
Missouri	146
Montana	1
Nebraska	232
Nevada	163
New Hampshire	24
New Jersey	1877
New Mexico	28
New York	4244
North Carolina	1429
North Dakota	4
Ohio	405
Oklahoma	241
Oregon	73
Pennsylvania	456
Puerto Rico	1
Rhode Island	148
South Carolina	434
South Dakota	27
Tennessee	909
Texas	5280
Utah	85
Vermont	3
Virginia	2856
Virgin Islands	4
Washington	265
West Virginia	12
Wisconsin	60
Wyoming	7
Total	37477

I hope this serves to clear up any confusion you might have about the process these children undergo. Next time I post, I will discuss some of the special challenges educators might face in integrating these children into the school community, and how to address those challenges.