One year after tens of thousands of Central American children attempted to cross into the United States, U.S. agencies have learned to process unexpected waves of unaccompanied minors. At the same time, the U.S. has successfully reduced the flow of children traveling alone by pressuring Central American governments to intercept them at the point of origin. By doing so, however, the U.S. may have contributed to their victimization, even as it depressurized the American immigration system.
Latin American Initiative Director Erika de la Garza and Mexico Center Director Tony Payan examine the problem in "Unaccompanied Children and the U.S. Immigration System: Learning to Compensate," published July 28, 2015, in the Georgetown Journal of International Affairs.
