In Mexico, all children who enter or remain in the country as irregular migrants are at risk of being deprived of their liberty and held in immigration detention centers ( esta­ciones migratorias).

The provision in the 2011 Migration Law to refer unaccompanied migrant children to the State child welfare in­stitution has proved complex in its imple­mentation. So much so that in 2015, 35,704 children and adolescents were detained for migration purposes.

However, that same year, in light of new leg­islation on the rights of all children, Mexican immigration authorities, the International De­tention Coalition, SOS Children’s Villages Mexico, and Covenant House Mexico formed a working group to jointly explore al­ternatives for unaccompanied migrant children.

This brochure details the outcomes of the pilot project.