KIND Blueprint: Concrete Steps to Protect Unaccompanied Children on the Move

November 2, 2020

KIND Blueprint

Concrete Steps to Protect Unaccompanied Children on the Move

KIND’s Blueprint for the protection of unaccompanied children provides guidance on how the U.S. government should uphold its responsibility to treat these children humanely and in accordance with the law and this country’s ideals. Their unique vulnerabilities require a legal and policy framework that provides enhanced procedural safeguards and protection mechanisms essential to helping unaccompanied children overcome daunting obstacles to relief.

This resource provides an administrative blueprint for establishing those safeguards and mechanisms and for best protecting children at every stage of their migration journey. It outlines a comprehensive set of policy recommendations, spanning a range of federal agencies and issue areas. KIND’s recommendations are grounded in over a decade of experience working directly with thousands of unaccompanied children and in our vision for a world in which children’s rights and well-being are protected as they migrate alone in search of safety.

Download Full Report

 

Download Executive Summary

 

Versión en Español

 

Additional Resources

  1. The Flores Settlement Agreement: https://www.aclu.org/sites/default/files/assets/flores_settlement_final_plus_extension_of_settlement011797.pdf
  2. KIND Timeline on recent changes affecting unaccompanied children: https://supportkind.org/resources/timeline-trump-administration-rolling-back-protections/
  3. Homeland Security Act of 2002: https://www.dhs.gov/xlibrary/assets/hr_5005_enr.pdf
  4. CBP National Standards on Transport, Escort, Detention, and Search: https://www.cbp.gov/sites/default/files/assets/documents/2020-Feb/cbp-teds-policy-october2015.pdf
  5. KIND 2020 Family Separation Report: https://supportkind.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Family-Separation-Report-2020-FINAL-2.pdf
  6. American Bar Association: Standards for the Custody, Placement and Care; Legal Representation; and Adjudication of Unaccompanied Alien Children in the United States https://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/publications/commission_on_immigration/2018_standards_for_children.pdf
  7. Thwarted Potential: The need to revive and expand the Central American Minors (CAM) Program as a key path to protection for at-risk unaccompanied children: https://supportkind.org/resources/thwarted-potential/