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Unaccompanied Children (UC)

Last Updated: May 13, 2021 | Testimony

Oral Testimony of Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro N. Mayorkas before the U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs

Secretary Mayorkas appeared before the U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs in a hearing titled, “DHS Actions to Address Unaccompanied Minors at the Southern Border.”

Last Updated: May 3, 2021 | Press Releases

Photos: DHS Action on the Southwest Border Yields Results

DHS and HHS were left to rebuild the capacity to shelter and process the children, after having inherited a system that had been entirely dismantled by the prior administration. These photos demonstrate the tremendous progress that DHS and its partners have made to safely and efficiently transfer unaccompanied children out of CBP custody and into the care of the Department of Health and Human Services.

Last Updated: May 3, 2021 | Press Releases

Infographic: DHS Action on the Southwest Border Yields Results

DHS and HHS were left to rebuild the capacity to shelter and process the children, after having inherited a system that had been entirely dismantled by the prior administration. This infographic demonstrates the tremendous progress that DHS and its partners have made to safely and efficiently transfer unaccompanied children out of CBP custody and into the care of the Department of Health and Human Services.

Last Updated: March 19, 2021 | Press Releases

Readout of Secretary Mayorkas’ Visit to El Paso with Bipartisan Delegation of Senators

Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro N. Mayorkas led a bipartisan Senate delegation to El Paso, Texas to view operations on the southwest border and receive a briefing on the processing, shelter, and transfer of unaccompanied children.

Last Updated: March 16, 2021 | Press Releases

Statement by Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro N. Mayorkas Regarding the Situation at the Southwest Border

There is understandably a great deal of attention currently focused on the southwest border.  I want to share the facts, the work that we in the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and across the government are doing, and our plan of action.

Last Updated: March 13, 2021 | Press Releases

Homeland Security Secretary Mayorkas Directs FEMA to Support Response for Unaccompanied Children

Homeland Secretary Alejandro N. Mayorkas has directed the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to support a government-wide effort over the next 90 days to safely receive, shelter, and transfer unaccompanied children who make the dangerous journey to the U.S. southwest border.

Last Updated: March 12, 2021 | Press Releases

Declaración conjunta del HHS y el DHS sobre la terminación del acuerdo de 2018

El Departamento de Salud y Servicios Humanos de Estados Unidos (HHS) y el Departamento de Seguridad Nacional de Estados Unidos (DHS) anunciaron la terminación de un acuerdo de 2018 que socavaba los intereses de los menores y que tenía un efecto aterrador en los posibles patrocinadores (generalmente un padre o una persona cercana) interesados en patrocinar a un menor sin acompañante bajo el cuidado de HHS.

Last Updated: March 12, 2021 | Press Releases

HHS and DHS Joint Statement on Termination of 2018 Agreement

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced the termination of a 2018 agreement that undermined the interests of children and had a chilling effect on potential sponsors (usually a parent or close relative) from stepping up to sponsor an unaccompanied child placed in the care of HHS.

Last Updated: May 11, 2020 | Publication

Retention Memo to CBP for CRCL Investigation Concerning Age Determination and Birth Certificate Verification Procedures

From 2015-2020, CRCL received more than 100 allegations that U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) violated the civil rights and civil liberties of unaccompanied minors when determining their ages or verifying the authenticity of their birth certificates. These allegations arose from reported incidents at both U.S. Border Patrol stations and ports of entry. These included similar allegations, such as CBP discarding and destroying birth certificates, pressuring and coercing unaccompanied minors into incorrectly claiming they are adults, and falsifying records of their ages. From these numerous allegations, CRCL chose a sample of 18 that represented the various types of allegations received by CRCL and opened them as complaint investigations.

Last Updated: November 26, 2019 | Publication

Retention Memo to CBP for CRCL Investigation Regarding Unaccompanied Minors Time in Custody

Between May 1 and July 31, 2019, CRCL received 677 allegations that U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) violated the civil rights and civil liberties of unaccompanied minors in CBP custody. This number of allegations corresponded with the increase in unaccompanied minor apprehensions at the Southwest border.