Human Rights Articles

by Jody McBrien, AWG Paris and Human Rights Team Co-Chair

A largely hidden but deeply problematic segment of US society is that of migrant youth in the United States – refugees, asylum seekers, and other migrants. Many are irregular unaccompanied minors. But even those who come with family through regulated channels experience great difficulties. This article is intended to provide more information on this vulnerable population.

International Documents Regarding Youth

There are 2.3 billion people in the world under the age of 18, nearly 1/3 of the world’s population.  According to the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, in 2020, young migrants accounted for 11.3 percent of the total migrant population and 2.6 percent among youth globally (UN DESA, 2020).

Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC)  – The International Convention on the Rights of the Child was formally adopted by the UN General Assembly in November 1989. The CRC was predicated on international reports of high infant mortality, deficient health care, limited opportunities for basic education. accounts of children being abused and exploited in prostitution or in harmful jobs, children in prison, and of children as refugees and victims of armed conflict. 

By the end of 1990, 57 countries had adopted the CRC, and by December 2015, 196 countries had ratified or acceded to the Convention, making it the most ratified human rights document in the world, unratified only by the United States, which has not even sent it to the Senate for consent and approval. This is a topic for another discussion, of course, but the repercussions are immense. The US, for instance, is the only country to sentence children to life in prison without the possibility of parole. This is forbidden by the CRC. 

Of course, while the CRC is ratified, it is not fully implemented, and children around the world continue to live without basic human rights. Article 22 states that “refugee children seeking or who have refugee status have the rights set out in the UNCRC. Governments must provide protection and support, and must help children who are separated from their parents to be reunited with their families.” Article 9 states that “No child should be separated from his or her parents against their will unless it is in the child’s best interests. Children whose parents have separated have the right to contact and a relationship with both parents, unless that’s not in the child’s best interests.” During the Trump administration, roughly 5,000 children were unwillingly separated from their parents. Nearly 1,000 children separated by this Trump policy remained un-reunited with their parents as of February 2023.

The Optional Protocol on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict (2000) is also known as the child soldier treaty. It was adopted by the UN in May 2000. By January 2023, 173 countries had ratified it, and it falls under the CRC.

It was championed by the Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers. Interestingly, two of the biggest state challenges to it came from the US and the UK, both of which complained about the limitation of children for military service who were under the age of 18. The US argued for 17 and the UK for 16. A compromise was reached that they could engage in military service, but that every effort be made not to engage them directly in hostilities.

I think we all know these are wonderful idealistic goals that we are sadly far from realizing. However, to have them creates some precedents for legally arguing against violations.

Challenges to Children; Challenges to the State

No matter their status, needs for minor migrants fall into the following categories:

1. Language. In my research, I have found this to be the first need expressed (McBrien, 2005). Most of us are immigrants, so we know how difficult it was to move to a country in which our first language was not readily understood. For us, it was our choice. For many of these children, it was not their choice, and they cannot decide to return to their home countries. Without caring support, they are left bewildered and isolated.
2. Friendship; connection. Children need friends. When countries send a message that immigrants are a problem, these children will have a harder time gaining needed connections (McBrien & Day, 2012).
3. Support given the cultural tightrope. Children I have worked with express the difficulty of both maintaining a connection to their native culture and needing to belong to their new culture.
4. Competing obligations. Because children tend to learn the new language faster than their parents, they are often called upon to participate in adult affairs, such as reading bills and signing checks. Although it is no longer legal to ask children to translate for their parents’ medical needs, they can still find themselves involved in these matters.
5. Health concerns. Many immigrants have suffered physical and/or psychological issues. Refugees have often had to flee violent places. Asylum seekers have similar experiences. They may have endured long periods with inadequate food, shelter, and medical care.

Host countries also experience shortages as they must address the needs of migrant youth. They include the following:

1. Teacher training. Most colleges of education do not provide sufficient training to teachers who will certainly be working with immigrant youth in their classrooms. For instance, my state of Florida has cut back on courses that provide training on social backgrounds of students.
2. Language assistance. More and more, high schools and universities no longer require a second language of graduates. When US students have not had to experience the difficulty of learning a second language, they are less likely to understand or empathize with migrant students who must. One frequently hears that migrants don’t want to learn English. In my research, I have found this is not at all the case. Because most Americans have not had to become fluent in another language, they have no idea how difficult it is, nor how much time it takes. 
3. Psychosocial assistance/cultural differences. Early research I participated in about the war in Ukraine described the need for psychological assistance for refugees in their native language. In addition, there is need for “cultural brokers” to help newcomers adjust to the cultural differences they face in a new country.
4. Basic needs (costs of shelter, food, etc.). Especially for migrant youth, many of whom may not be of an age of legal employment, there are major needs to support these young people with adequate shelter, food, medical needs and education.

Situation in the US

In the US, refugee, asylum-seeking and migrant youth struggle against a rising nationalist wave that, at best, ignores them, and at worst, allows atrocities to continue against these children. This year, there have been several investigative reports by The New York Times uncovering horrific working conditions of children from Central America working in industry and poultry packing plants in the United States. As reported, “The Times spoke with more than 100 migrant child workers in 20 states who described jobs that were grinding them into exhaustion, and fears that they had become trapped in circumstances they never could have imagined.” There were thirteen-year-old children working 12-hour days, washing hotel sheets, scrubbing dishes or working milking machines in Vermont. The White House and federal agencies have been repeatedly notified about these conditions but have not addressed them. The harsh conditions involved the children working long hours through the night that did not allow them to get sleep before going to school. They created dangerous work conditions that resulted at times in these children being physically injured or maimed by machinery. Then, the children and their families couldn’t afford medical care because there is no universal healthcare in the US.

This situation is deplorable, yet it is largely covered up. There is a great deal of child labor in the US, particularly in agriculture, and children are exposed to brutal environmental conditions and chemicals. In many cases, they are on their own and have no recourse to help. 

Remedies

So what can be done? Clearly, teacher training is a major need. But I don’t see state departments of education caring about this issue, which is frankly crazy, given the numbers of immigrant children in US schools. Ignoring the need will not make it go away. 

What I have seen work are partnerships between refugee agencies and school systems that create opportunities for school teachers and staff to learn about migrant populations in their communities, and new migrants to learn about school expectations in their new communities. I worked with a refugee agency in Atlanta, Georgia, which hired refugee adults who had learned English to become liaisons between the schools and their migrant communities. So, for instance, a Bosnian woman helped the school district understand their situation and communicate with the Bosnian refugees; Similarly, there were liaisons from Vietnam, Afghanistan, Iran, and other countries to create these supports. They would go to parent-teacher conferences with parents from their international community to translate, create informational seminars for school personnel and for newcomers to their community, find provisions needed by their community members and more.

I did an evaluation on this liaison project and found significant gains in understanding and motivation to work with refugee and other migrant children among teachers in the Atlanta area as a result of this service. 

There is another NGO called “Welcoming America” that I have been following since its inception in 2009. The organization operates on principles from Harvard professor Gordon Allport’s Contact Theory, which he introduced in his book The Nature of Prejudice in 1954. It provides a systematic way to break down barriers and help people from diverse cultures recognize that they all want the same things: safety for their families, a good job to provide for them, good education for their children. It provides opportunities for people from diverse cultures to work together – such as creating community gardens, beautifying a playground, even getting together for an intercultural meal – that help them see one another beyond stereotypes and fears.

Conclusions

I am greatly concerned when I see countries determining that they will cut off migration opportunities. The only way to realistically reduce migration is to help poor countries, violent countries and warring countries to solve their problems. 

So, in an idealistic world, I would say use the billions of dollars we now spend on weapons and military operations to care for people. “Just imagine!” as John Lennon would say. I guess I will never understand why such an approach does not make more sense than current regimes of oppression and violence, war and discrimination, anger and xenophobia. 

It is critical for those of us who are in fields of human rights and migration to help individuals find ways to grow compassion. 

References

• Allport, G. (1954). The Nature of Prejudice. Addison-Wesley.
• Convention on the Rights of the Child | OHCHR 
• Dreier, H. (February 25, 2023). Alone and Exploited, Migrant Children Work Brutal Jobs Across the U.S. – The New York TimesAlone and Exploited, Migrant Children Work Brutal Jobs Across the U.S. – The New York TimesThe New York Times 
• Dreier, H. (April 17, 2023). As Migrant Children Were Put to Work, U.S. Ignored Warnings – The New York Times
• Dreier, H. (September 18, 2023). The Kids on the Night Shift – The New York Times
• McBrien, J. L. (2005). “Educational needs and barriers for refugee students in the United States: A review of the literature,” Review of Educational Research, 75, 329-364.
• McBrien, J. L. and Day., R. (2012). “From there to here: Using photography to explore acculturation with resettled refugee youth.” International Journal of Child, Youth, and Family Studies, 3(4.1), 546-568. 
• Optional Protocol on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict 

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