WHAT KIND OF WELCOME? INTEGRATION OF CENTRAL AMERICAN UNACCOMPANIED CHILDREN INTO LOCAL COMMUNITIES By Elżbieta M. Goździak Director of Research Institute for the Study of International Migration at Georgetown University Prepared for the J.M. Kaplan Fund, February 2015 WHAT KIND OF WELCOME? INTEGRATION OF CENTRAL AMERICAN UNACCOMPANIED CHILDREN INTO LOCAL COMMUNITIES Page 1 Contents Acknowledgements 3 Key Observations 4 Introduction 5 The Current Migration of Unaccompanied Children 7 Reception in Communities and Families 10 Education and Employment 13 Beyond Education and Employment 20 Conclusion: Challenges for the Future 22 Resources 23 Endnotes 24 WHAT KIND OF WELCOME? INTEGRATION OF CENTRAL AMERICAN UNACCOMPANIED CHILDREN INTO LOCAL COMMUNITIES Page 2 About the Author Elżbieta M. Goździak, PhD, is the Director of Research at the Institute for the Study of International Migration (ISIM) at Georgetown University and Editor of Interna- tional Migration, a peer reviewed, scholarly journal devoted to research and poli- cy analysis of contemporary issues affecting international migration. Formerly, she held a senior position with the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) and the Sub- stance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) in the US De- partment of Health and Human Services. She has taught at Howard University in the Social Work with Displaced Populations Program, and managed a program area on admissions and resettlement of refugees in industrialized countries for the Refugee Policy Group. Prior to immigrating to the US, she was an Associate Professor of Anthropology at the Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań, Poland. Acknowledgements This report benefited greatly from the contributions of many individuals. I interviewed several policy-makers, child advocates, pro bono attorneys representing undocumented Central American children and youth, service providers, especially those providing post-release services, school adminis- trators and teachers, and community leaders. Some of them spoke on the condition of anonymity, therefore their names do not appear in the acknowledgments. They know that I appreciate their input enormously. My special gratitude goes to Elaine Kelley of the Office of Refugee Resettlement; Leslie Velez of UNHCR; Su- san Downs-Karkos of Welcoming America; Claire Sylvan of Internationals for Public Schools; Lina Avidan of the Zellerbach Family Foundation; Michelle Brané and Jennifer Podkul of the Women’s Refugee Commission; Wendy Young of Kids in Need of Defense (KIND); Nathalie Lummert and Kirstyn Peck of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops; and Tania Hindert of Mary’s Center. They have either spoken with me at length or invited me to meetings where I gained additional insights into the integration issues facing unaccompanied children and youth. I have also benefited from talking to a number of researchers with a long history of studying undocumented chil- dren, youth, and families from Latin America, including Susan Terrio of Georgetown University; Cecilia Menjivar of Arizona State University; and Deborah Boehm of University of Nevada, Reno. Sarah Graveline, my graduate research assistant, provided indispensable assistance in conducting literature re- views and masterfully copy-editing and formatting this report. Many thanks to Meg Shoemaker Little of Welcoming America and M. Aryah Somers of KIND for providing com- ments on an earlier draft of this report. Finally, Suzette Brooks Masters of the J.M. Kaplan Fund commissioned this analysis and provided invaluable guidance and support throughout the process of researching and writing this report. WHAT KIND OF WELCOME? INTEGRATION OF CENTRAL AMERICAN UNACCOMPANIED CHILDREN INTO LOCAL COMMUNITIES Page 3 KEY OBSERVATIONS Child migrants have been coming to America alone since Ellis Island. American society has been favorably disposed to prior waves of youth migration. The arrival of large numbers of migrant youth from Central America and Mexico is also not new. But the recent migration from the south has some distinct characteristics: • The majority of Mexican youth are sent back immediately or do not make it to the border. • Mostly Central American children and youth are reporting to immigration authorities or being apprehended at the border. • More young women are migrating, often with small children of their own. • The vast majority of the young migrants are seeking to unite with family in the U.S. Despite occasional anti-immigrant sentiment, local reception has been generally positive. Some lo- cal governments have provided additional funding to facilitate the integration of the youth and support legal services to help them pursue their claims to remain in the United States. Others have offered to host reception centers for migrants awaiting placement with family and sponsors. In addition, philan- thropy has stepped up in several locales to provide additional resources, primarily legal in nature, but also for general services and mental health support. Overall, local communities are generally able to absorb the relatively small numbers of children and youth released to family or community members. The Central American migrant youth face many of the same challenges as other young migrants with poor English language skills and lack of documented status. Strong models of intervention exist that should be extended to assist these newly arrived migrants as well. Community groups and school districts have considerable experience supporting Latino migrants. However, they do require additional resources to address the effects of psychological trauma and disrupted schooling that many recent child migrants experienced. Family reunification is a positive outcome of the migration. However, this reunification must be managed to ensure a healthy transition to life in the U.S. for the migrants. Further research is needed. Especially important is comparative research examining the social, cultural, and legal well-being of three distinct groups of newly arrived Central American youth: • Those who have been apprehended, detained in U.S. immigration custody, and released to family or community with post-release services; and • Those who have been detained and released from U.S. immigration custody without post- release services; and • Those who were not apprehended when entering the U.S. without authorization and have not had contact with local, state or federal law enforcement or social services. WHAT KIND OF WELCOME? INTEGRATION OF CENTRAL AMERICAN UNACCOMPANIED CHILDREN INTO LOCAL COMMUNITIES Page 4 WHAT KIND OF WELCOME? INTEGRATION OF CENTRAL AMERICAN UNACCOMPANIED CHILDREN INTO LOCAL COMMUNITIES By Elżbieta M. Goździak Director of Research, Institute for the Study of International Migration at Georgetown Prepared for the J.M. Kaplan Fund, February 2015 INTRODUCTION Child Migrants Make Headlines Unaccompanied child migrants from Central America and Mexico arriving at the U.S. southern border be- came national news in the summer of 2014. A multitude of front-page stories about the influx of unaccom- panied children and youth travelling to the United States to seek refuge from horrific violence--rape, gang recruitment, and murder--in Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador, and Mexico followed.1 Advocacy groups and UN agencies produced reports urging international protection for the children on the move.2 Migration policy advisors and congressional researchers also chimed in.3 Journalists wrote about anti-immigrant sentiments reaching fever pitch over the arrival of these youngsters.4 CNN reported that in places such as Murrieta, California, and Oracle, Arizona, the message was clear: immi- grant children fleeing Central America are unwelcome in Small Town USA.5 Child advocates countered these attitudes with calls for protecting the children and ensuring due process in immigration proceedings. The at- tention overwhelmingly centered on the push factors driving the arrival of unaccompanied children and youth to the U.S. and their treatment while in government custody. Fewer advocates focused on how the young mi- grants fared once released from detention centers to family and community. Mark Greenberg, Acting Assistant Secretary in the Administration for Children and Families (ACF), testified that in FY 2014, “approximately 95% of children released [from the Department of Health and Human Services custody] were released to a parent, relative, or non-relative sponsor.”6 Most unaccompanied children spend, on average, 35 days in HHS custody,7 but wait 578 days for a court date to appear in front of an immigration judge.8 Five hundred seventy eight days is a long time, a little over a year and a half. It is difficult to predict how many of the young migrants will remain after their immigration hearing. However, whether they will be allowed to stay or will be eventually deported, they are here now. What will happen to them in the intervening months and years? How will they fare in the families and communities to whom they have been released? Will their relatives embrace them? How will anti-immigrant sentiments affect their daily lives? Will they be integrated into American schools or even go to school? Who will support them? These are some of the issues that this report addresses. WHAT KIND OF WELCOME? INTEGRATION OF CENTRAL AMERICAN UNACCOMPANIED CHILDREN INTO LOCAL COMMUNITIES Page 5 Child Migrants Have Been Coming to America Alone Since Ellis Island The press portrays the Central American children and youth who are arriving at our southern border as a mi-