Assessing and Addressing Protection Needs of Undocumented Migrant Children in North Carolina
Abstract
This thesis investigates differential protection outcomes among undocumented migrant
youth from Central America who are transferred to North Carolina. The literature shows
there is a significant gap in research on the protection needs of undocumented minors
in the US, but also points to potential problems in child protection as migrant children
are situated squarely within often competing agendas of human rights and national
security imperatives. Lastly, research shows that children are dependent on states
for basic services, yet lack of documentation and family support are shown to impede
their access to basic services. In order to understand uneven protection outcomes
among undocumented migrant youth in the US, I examine the following three interrelated
questions: What happens when the children arrive in the US? How do they arrive in
North Carolina? Why do some children end up in foster families, whereas others are
reunited with their own families, others in institutions, and others deported? And,
what are the protection needs of undocumented youth in North Carolina and the guardians
who support them? Drawing on data collected from archival analyses of newspaper articles,
focus group research, and semi-structured interviews with foster families, immigration
lawyers, and agencies involved in the process in North Carolina, this research makes
several key interventions in current debates about child protection, migration, and
citizenship in North Carolina and in the US more generally. In examining how children
end up in disparate circumstances, this mixed-methods research revealed that North
Carolina lacks a clear policy on the issue, there is a spread of misinformation that
exacerbates tensions around immigration and protection and there is a lack of support
systems in place for child migrants and their families, as well as the particular
professions (teachers, lawyers, and clinicians) that serve this population. Ultimately,
this research reveals that state and federal governments are failing to protect the
fundamental human rights of all children within the territory of the US, due to incoherent
protection policy guidelines at different levels of government, and due to problems
in uneven, contingent, and highly variable circumstances of policy implementation.
Type
Master's projectDepartment
The Sanford School of Public PolicyPermalink
https://hdl.handle.net/10161/9739Citation
Van Stekelenburg, Brianna (2015). Assessing and Addressing Protection Needs of Undocumented Migrant Children in North
Carolina. Master's project, Duke University. Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/10161/9739.More Info
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