Two Years Later, “Urgent Humanitarian Situation” Continues
*Images taken in Texas detention center: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/06/16/border-detention-center-photos_n_5501167.html
After the unaccompanied children crisis in the southern border made national headlines in 2014, newscasts have slowly decreased their coverage of the situation. In fact, it seems like the nation has forgotten that for the past two years children are still attempting to enter the United States. As a result, disinterest in the situation has allowed for the Obama administration to continue the same policies without much criticism in the media or from the general public since the initial crisis began nearly two years ago.
For instance, with the current lack of interest, many of the inhuman conditions in detention centers are still in practice. Once an accompanied child runs into US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) they are apprehended, processed, and detained. CBP then must transfer custody of the child within 72 hours to Health and Human Services. It’s during these first 72 hours that a lot of children experience inhuman conditions. These include, but are not limited to, multiple children in a small room, improper sleeping accommodations and sanitation concerns. The conditions have gotten so bad that several international organizations and advocacy groups have labeled the conditions as human right violations. So far, the only policy the Obama administration has pursued is building more detention centers and expediting the removal process of the children.
Moreover, the decline in interest has allowed for irresponsible practices like children not having access to legal counsel to become the norm. According to US Customs and Border Protection, in 2014 there were 68,541 unaccompanied children apprehended. By 2015 this number had decreased to 39,399. However, when comparing the same time period (October 1-January 31) for the 2015 (10,105) and 2016 (20,455) fiscal years, there was a 102% increase in the number of apprehensions. This in return has caused even more backlogs in immigration courts reviewing potential asylum cases. Since the signing of the Trafficking Victims and Protection Act in 2000 by President George W. Bush and reauthorization by President Obama in 2013, the removal proceedings for unaccompanied children are done differently if they are not from a border sharing country. This means that children from Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras have to be screened as potential victims of human trafficking. In theory, this is supposed to help children by allowing an immigration judge to see if the child falls under this category, but the problem is many children don’t have the means to hire an attorney. Consequently, “these children are forced to appear before an immigration judge and navigate the immigration court process, including putting on a legal defense, without any legal representation” (A Guide to Children Arriving at the Border).
In 2014, the unaccompanied child crisis was labeled by President Obama as an “urgent humanitarian situation.” However, it seems like Obama and his administration have failed to grasp the definition of what an “urgent humanitarian situation” is. It should not matter if there are 30,000 children or 100,000 children trying to cross the border. The US has a responsibility to treat every single child as human beings. Failure to do so puts the integrity of this nation as a promoter of human rights on the line. It’s time the United States government begins practicing what it preaches and start addressing human right abuses occurring in American soil.
References:
"Children in Danger: A Guide to the Humanitarian Challenge at the Border." Children in Danger: A Guide to the Humanitarian Challenge at the Border. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Mar. 2016.
