Guatemala: Individualized Screening for Returned Migrant Children
This event in Quetzaltenango focused on capacity building for child protection authorities responsible for the reception and referrals of migrant children returned to Guatemala from Mexico. The event was held by Staff from the government shelter for children 12 years of age and older to.
Focusing on Right to Personal Liberty in Guatemala
Our IDC team facilitated a strategy session with the Procuraduría de Derechos Humanos (PDH) in Guatemala on protecting the right to personal liberty. Dialogue focused on identifying and reporting immigration detention as a rights violation, and looking at options that limit the use of detention in Guatemala and advocate for alternatives in Mexico and the U.S.
Cross-Regional Exchange on Ending Child Detention
The Permanent Mission of Brazil, the Permanent Mission of the Republic of the Philippines and the Permanent Mission of the Republic of Zambia, in collaboration with the International Detention Coalition (IDC), UNICEF and the Initiative on Child Rights in the Global Compacts, held a cross – regional exchange alongside the 5th negotiation of the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration.
Thirteen States attended the event, sharing insights into migration governance that does not resort to child immigration detention. Many States are taking positive steps towards ending child detention, often with the support of international and civil society organisations.
In order to end the practice of child immigration detention globally, these positive practices and successful pilots should be shared, scaled up and promoted.
The exchange provided a space for States to share their experiences implementing alternatives to the immigration detention of children and explored how dialogue and experience-sharing could illuminate the implementation phase of the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration.
The IDC has compiled some positive practices in the Briefing Paper Never in a Child’s Best Interests and developed a Roadmap for States working to End Immigration Detention of Children.
Search for examples of alternatives to detention in the IDC database.
Panel on Management of Mixed Migratory Flows in North Africa and the Sahel
Junita Calder, IDC's Africa and Middle East Regional Coordinator, was invited by Honourable Commissioner and Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Asylum Seekers, Refugees, Migrants, Stateless Persons and IDPs, Maya Sahli-Fadel to speak on the panel “Management of Mixed Migratory Flows in North Africa and the Sahel”. See the panel Concept Note here.
Calder discussed the role of civil society in implementing community- based alternatives to immigration detention that are more affordable, more humane and foster greater compliance with authorities than just defaulting to the use of detention. She flagged the importance of collaboration between government and NGOs to ensure holistic support.
Detention is NOT the Solution: US Plan to Lock-up Children Indefinitely
Within a couple of weeks of the US government announcing its ‘zero tolerance policy on illegal entry on its southwest border', the world witnessed the devastating impact of these actions on the lives of children and families seeking protection in the US.
Last week, amidst the uproar of outrage regarding the increased separation of families at the southern US border, President Trump issued an Executive Order on June 20, 2018 that instead of protecting these children, promises them and other families additional harm.
The Executive Order does nothing to address the more than 2,000 families that have been separated as part of the Administration´s ‘zero tolerance policy for illegal entry on the southwest border’. There is currently no statement regarding plans to reunite these children with their parents who are seeking protection in the US. The policy targeted families entering the US at unauthorized points, although many families seeking safety had been turned away at official ports of entry. These children were needlessly taken from their parents and held in inappropriate facilities as authorities struggled to find placement options in a system that is already overwhelmed. Now, many may remain in government shelters or with foster families and it is likely they will be left to navigate the complex immigration and asylum process alone. They may never find their parents again, even if they are all returned to the same country.
The Executive Order seeks to lock-up children together with their families for indefinite periods of time, in jail-like conditions. Instead of separating families, the Executive Order sets out plans to detain them together, and worse, to lock-up more children and families than ever before.
The US currently has immigration detention centers specifically for children and families, with a capacity to lock-up about 3,000 mothers and their children. These centers have been operating under harsh scrutiny and legal challenges since 2014. In fact, the U.S. government is legally mandated to release children to family members as quickly as possible and to place children in the least restrictive setting appropriate to their age and needs, in accordance with the 1997 settlement in Flores v. Reno. In 2015, a Federal District Court concluded that lengthy or indefinite family detention also violates this settlement.
The Executive Order seeks to challenge these rulings in order to lock-up these families in jail-like conditions, for indefinite periods of time. It asks the court to build and approve use of additional facilities to detain children together with their parents, including military bases. In direct contravention of existing court orders, it also plans to detain families indefinitely as they await the resolution of their immigration processes, which due to court backlogs, can take months and even years.
Detention is NOT the solution. Immigration detention is extremely harmful to children, regardless of the conditions or amount of time spent there. The American Academy of Pediatrics and other Experts on child development agree that detention subjects children to psychological trauma that is often irreversible. International human rights standards clearly state that detention in the context of migration is never in the child’s best interests and always constitutes a child rights violation.
For these reasons, members of congress, physicians, human rights experts, lawyers, judges, faith communities and immigrants and allies across the US and around the world have spoken out against the use of immigration detention.
The US has options to protect these children NOW. The US has alternatives to detention that it can choose to implement now. These alternatives respect children’s rights by allowing them to live together with their families in the community as they participate in the immigration process. The US has had successful experience with alternatives to detention, including the recent Family Case Management Pilot (FCMP) and other local initiatives that are proven to be less costly than immigration detention and cause less harm to the well-being of children and families. These alternatives are not to be confused with electronic monitoring devices, or ‘ankle bracelets', which criminalize migration and are classified by the IDC as an alternative form of detention.
Immigration detention is an expensive practice, costing the US around $300 USD per day for each family detention, whereas alternatives cost only $36 USD per family, per day. Detention is also ineffective at reducing irregular migration, and cannot legally be used to punish people or deter future migration.
Alternatives to detention can be implemented in the US now, and do not require changes to law. Sign the petition now to end child immigration detention.
Cross-Regional Exchange to Explore Ending Child Detention
The Permanent Mission of Brazil, the Permanent Mission of the Republic of the Philippines and the Permanent Mission of the Republic of Zambia, in collaboration with the International Detention Coalition (IDC), UNICEF and the Initiative on Child Rights in the Global Compacts, are holding a cross – regional exchange alongside the 5th negotiation of the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration.
The exchange aims is to demonstrate migration governance without resorting to child detention is not only possible, but it is in fact a reality in many States. Many States are taking positive steps towards ending child detention, often with the support of international and civil society organisations.
In order to end the practice of child immigration detention globally, these positive practices and successful pilots should be shared, scaled up and promoted.
The exchange will open a space for States to discuss their experiences implementing alternatives to the immigration detention of children and to explore how dialogue and experience-sharing could illuminate the implementation phase of the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration.
Experts warn Mexico cannot take on US asylum seekers
On May 22, 2018, the IDC joined member and partner organizations in speaking out against a possible agreement between Mexico and the US that would require some people fleeing Central America to process their asylum claims in Mexico.
In a letter addressed to government representatives of the two countries, experts expressed concern that the agreement would significantly limit access to international protection and violate people’s right to seek safety in the U.S.
The letter highlighted Mexico’s overwhelmed asylum system and persistent use of immigration detention. It states:
“This type of agreement would prevent anyone who traveled through Mexico from asking for protection from the U.S. government and require they go back to Mexico to seek humanitarian protection. The process presumes migrants have the ability to access protection in Mexico and that it is a safe place to stay.”
Mexico is not safe for many migrants, and its asylum system lacks capacity to process more than a tiny fraction of cases of individuals seeking, and in need of, international protection.
Some of the key issues highlighted include:
- Individuals seeking protection in Mexico face many obstacles, including remaining in detention while their claim is being processed in the majority of cases, and lack of access to legal advice to assist in navigating Mexico’s immigration and refugee laws
- According to official statistics, 18,300 children were detained by immigration authorities in 2017; even those transferred to DIF custody [the family welfare department] are in locked-door facilities, in conditions that dissuade them from seeking protection
- The Mexican Refugee Commission, COMAR, also lacks financial, technical, and human resources, and the Mexican government has not shown the political will to address these shortcomings
- The agency has no capacity to adjudicate the number of asylum claims received in the United States. In 2017, 90,104 asylum claims were filed in the United States by asylum seekers from Central America alone … the system would further collapse if COMAR had to handle this many more applications
We strongly urge the United States and Mexico to abandon negotiations on such an agreement and instead to uphold their responsibility under international and national law to offer access to international protection to all those seeking it, ensuring due process and respect for family unity.
Thailand: Theory of Change Workshop
Bangkok Workshop
On 16th and 17th of May, the IDC brought together various stakeholders in Thailand to develop a national strategy for ending child immigration detention, built upon a theory of change.
Theory of change is a methodology for planning, participation and evaluation that is used to promote social change.
The workshop, led by an experienced theory of change facilitator, was held in Bangkok and was attended by close to 20 participants from civil society and United Nations agencies.
Over a period of two days, participants came together to identify a common long-term strategy, as well as specific intermediate outcomes needed to bring an end to immigration detention of children and their families, and to develop effective community-based alternatives. Participants also identified existing opportunities, gaps and challenges in national advocacy, as well as areas for intervention and capacity-building to achieve those aims.
In Thailand, groups have been engaged on advocacy and service provision for children impacted by immigration detention for several years now, however this is the first time that a broad range of stakeholders have came together to try to develop a common vision and cohesive long-term strategy to end immigration detention of children.
Following this workshop, participants will further refine the theory of change, clarify assumptions, and begin identifying ways to implement and evaluate interventions.
IDC organized a similar workshop in Malaysia at the end of February, and will be organizing one in Indonesia in the coming months.
Mexico City NGOs & Family Welfare Department Sign Collaboration Agreement
Four IDC member organisations and allies of the IDC signed an agreement with the System for the Integral Development of the Family of Mexico City (DIF CDMX), the government department which is responsible for promoting social assistance and the provision of services for people in vulnerable situations. The agreement aims to strengthen joint work to promote the human rights of migrants and those who need international protection.
The organisations involved in the agreement expressed their commitment to establish joint work programs including skills exchange, training activities and deepening the expertise and promotion of the human rights of migrants and those subject to international protection; as well as to promote the programs and services that the DIF CDMX provides to this population.
Mexico plays an important role in the issue of migration as a country of origin, transit, destination and return. Collaboration such as this one between civil society and government is essential to promote the right to liberty and other human rights of all people, regardless of their immigration status.
Get to know more about the civil society organisations that have signed the agreement:
