Critics are up in arms that the Trump administration is ripping children away from their parents at the border, but that's not necessarily what happens when kids enter the US by Ellen Cranley and Michelle Mark on May 29, 2018, 7:38 PM Advertisement
 - Reports President Donald Trump's administration had "lost" 1,500 migrant children went viral this weekend, resurfacing a debate on US immigration policies for children.
- But that claim is misguided, and is being confused with a separate Trump administration policy to separate migrant children from their parents.
- Here's what actually happens when migrant children arrive at the US border, with or without their parents.
The Trump administration on Tuesday blasted "false and misleading" claims that the federal government had "lost" 1,475 migrant children — a narrative that gained steam unexpectedly over the weekend, after social-media users circulated a month-old story about federal officials' failed attempts to contact the children's families by phone. "These children are not 'lost'; their sponsors — who are usually parents or family members and in all cases have been vetted for criminality and ability to provide for them — simply did not respond or could not be reached when this voluntary call was made," Eric Hargen, the Health and Human Services deputy secretary, said in a statement. The controversy stemmed from testimony a Trump administration official gave on April 26 regarding the whereabouts of thousands of unaccompanied children who had arrived at the US border and were then placed with sponsors. Steven Wagner, an acting assistant secretary at the US Administration for Children and Families, testified that the Office of Refugee Resettlement had tried to reach 7,635 children and their sponsors from October to December 2017 and couldn't get in touch with 1,475 of those children, leading to reports they had been "lost." But news of the unaccompanied children coincided with separate news of the a recently unveiled "zero tolerance policy" from the Trump administration. The misunderstanding of the process the government has for unaccompanied minors turned this communication gap into a scandal. Here's what actually happens when migrant children arrive at the US border hoping to enter the country: SEE ALSO: The Trump administration has been under fire for 'losing' 1,500 migrant children, but they may not want to be found SEE ALSO: Obama administration officials are rushing to explain photos from 2014 that went viral this weekend showing locked-up immigrant children Who are these children, and how many of them are there?  When a child arrives at the US border and is not accompanied by a parent or guardian, US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) considers them an "unaccompanied alien child." Since 2014, more than 230,000 unaccompanied minors have come to the US, according to CBP data. In 2017, the majority of these children were between 15 to 18 years old, and 94% were referred to the refugee-resettlement office after fleeing violence in Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador. Only 3% were from Mexico. A fact sheet from the US Administration for Children and Families describes the wide variety of reasons for children to flee their homes for the US, including re-joining family, escaping violence or abuse, or finding work. These children are "especially vulnerable to human trafficking, exploitation and abuse" because of their ages and situations, making a proper reception and placement process critical to their survival and well-being in the US.
What rights do unaccompanied minors have in the US, and how are they protected under the law?  International and domestic law requires the US to ensure safe arrival and processing of refugees and asylum-seekers once they have escaped persecution or violence and reached the US. Some of the same rules apply to these unaccompanied minors. According to a 2014 UN Refugee Agency report on 404 children from Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador, 58 percent had to flee "because they suffered or faced harms that indicated a potential or actual need for international protection." Because of the threats the majority of these children were facing, they are not turned away at the border — instead, they are permitted to enter the US while their asylum cases are processed by the court system, though many are ultimately expected not to win their cases. During that time, the appropriate case managers begin a process that protects each child's chance to receive educational, health, and legal services.
What is the government's procedure for receiving and processing unaccompanied children?  When unaccompanied minors arrive at the US border, the border protection office detains them, then passes them to the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) within 72 hours. The average stay for a child in a shelter has been 56 days in 2018, during which time the child is assigned a case worker who will search for and approve an adult, American sponsor. The refugee-resettlement office looks to place children in a protective environment while they are being processed and generally turns to a network of state-licensed, agency-funded care providers.
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