Undocumented and Unaccompanied: Children of Migration in the European Union and the United States

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Citation

Menjívar, Cecilia & Perreira, Krista M. (2019). Undocumented and Unaccompanied: Children of Migration in the European Union and the United States. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 45(2: Special Issue), 197-217. PMCID: PMC6583791

Abstract

Thousands of minors are migrating unaccompanied to high-income countries. This special issue focuses on unaccompanied migrant minors from the Global South to Europe and the U.S. In this introduction, we seek to complement the contributions to this special issue by shedding light on what resources and experiences unaccompanied migrants arrive with, stressing these young migrants’ challenges at each stage prior to arrival and the challenges they face navigating the receiving context. We first clarify how the international community defines ‘unaccompanied minors’ or ‘unaccompanied children’. We then provide brief histories of unaccompanied minors in immigration flows to the U.S. and the EU. Next, we review the literature on the experiences of unaccompanied minors before, during, and after migration. Finally, we discuss key themes and insights from the articles provided in this special issue.

URL

https://dx.doi.org/10.1080/1369183X.2017.1404255

Reference Type

Journal Article

Year Published

2019

Journal Title

Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies

Author(s)

Menjívar, Cecilia
Perreira, Krista M.

PMCID

PMC6583791

ORCiD

Perreira - 0000-0003-2906-0261