So I've seen the #WhereAreTheChildren hashtag and read some articles. I think there's a misunderstanding of what it means, exactly. How are the children "missing"? 1/n
When I first heard the headline, it sounds shocking. "ICE loses 1500 immigrant children!" I know that I got enraged just hearing that. But you dig a little deeper and find out what is actually being reported.
So before going any further, I guess I should say that I work for one of the shelters that temporarily houses unaccompanied minors. After they are detained and processed, ICE transfers those children to our care.
If the child is from a non-contiguous country (e.g. not Mexico), they have certain protections and have a legal right to be seen in front of a judge to determine if they may qualify for the right to live in the US.
However, that process takes an extremely long time. Years and years. There are too many kids and not enough judges. So programs like mine work to identify someone in the US who can sponsor them. The sponsor is responsible for providing all their needs.
Sponsors can be parents, family members, or a family friend with a proveable relationship. Many of our sponsors are undocumented. There is not enough space in foster homes for all of these children and it simply makes humane sense to send these kids with loved ones.
And the sponsor has to be on top of their stuff. They provide a LOT of information to even get close to sponsoring. If there are concerns with the sponsor, we might send someone to examine their home or just deny the sponsor rather than take the risk.
And when a sponsor is finally approved, that means that we have confidence that these kids will continue going to school, attend their legal appointments, and receive all the love and care that they should receive.
This is where the article comes in. After the children are reunified, we do not have contact with them. We make one 30-day call to see if they are safe. This is what the article is reporting on. Of all the calls we made, approximately 1500 couldn't be contacted.
I think there are a lot of reasons for that. On one hand, it may due to a change in phone number or address. Changes like these are common for the immigrant population. On the other hand, there is a lot of fear around immigration. Maybe they dropped off the map for fear.
However, there is an issue with tracking after they're released. We don't put ankle bracelets on these kids. They aren't criminals. They don't have parole officers. But the concern for safety is legitimate. So the real question becomes, how do we appropriately protect them?
The articles I've read reference a 2014 case where kids were trafficked and found working in an egg factory. That was a huge deal. Our program and HHS made drastic changes to how they vet sponsors. Trafficking is at the top of our minds for every case.
I know that our program does excellent work. But there are limits to our control once kids leave our doors. I don't want any child being abused or neglected. And one victim is too many. At the same time, the response cannot be keeping these kids in a facility indefinitely.
The new Trump-era policies that separate children from their parents are reprehensible. Not only does it traumatize these children, but it crowds facilities, extends the length of stay in our program, and limits sponsorship options for these kids.
I imagine that's part of the malicious intent. By separating families and sending parents back to home country, the children are more likely to want to be with mom and dad, even if it means returning to a dangerous situation.
We need a humane solution. How do you protect and track hundreds of thousands of kids going through legal proceedings across the entire country after they leave federal guardianship? I don’t have that answer, but I want to find one.
