Unaccompanied Children and Youth: Archived Resources
The following archived resources focus on the experiences of unaccompanied children that migrated to the U.S. during prior migration waves. These resources offer helpful background information for educators.
For updated information and ideas on how to best serve unaccompanied children in schools, see Unaccompanied Children in Schools: What You Need to Know.
News Coverage
Education Week
Education Week has featured in-depth coverage of the arrival of unaccompanied children in public schools, including the following stories:
- Will Schools Be Prepared for Latest Surge of Unaccompanied Minors?
- Unaccompanied Minors Face Uneven Experiences in U.S. Schools
- After Journey From Honduras, Boy Starts School in U.S.
- U.S. Schools Gear Up for Surge of Young Immigrants
- Surge of Unaccompanied Minors Crossing Border Presents Education Challenges
The New York Times
- The Refugees at Our Door
- The Children of the Drug Wars
- Immigrants' School Cases Spur Enrollment Review in New York
- Requirements Keep Young Immigrants Out of Long Island Classrooms
- School District on Long Island Is Told It Must Teach Immigrants
- The Heartache of an Immigrant Family
- Q. and A.: Children at the Border
Public media
- A Year Later: The School System That Welcomed Unaccompanied Minors (NPR)
- The Surreal Reasons Girls Are Disappearing In El Salvador (NPR)
- Unaccompanied Child Migrants From Central America: Where Are They Now? (The Diane Rehm Show)
- She Escaped Violence for a Fresh Start in Texas (KERA's Generation One series)
- The Journey to Texas: Why Central American Kids Are Coming Here
Other news outlets
- Siblings Risk Separation in Immigration System (Yahoo Politics)
- Ministering to Unaccompanied Immigrant Children (Global Sisters Project)
- How to Treat Unaccompanied Immigrant Children At Center of Policy Debate (National Catholic Reporter)
Research and Reports
Unaccompanied Child Migrants in U.S. Communities, Immigration Court, and Schools
The tens of thousands of unaccompanied school-aged children and youths who crossed the U.S.-Mexico border in the spring and summer of 2014 had vastly different educational experiences depending on where they settled, according to this report from the Migration Policy Institute. The report argues that the “most visible and immediate impact” of the surge of unaccompanied minors has been felt by local school districts.
No Childhood Here: Why Central American Children Are Fleeing Their Homes
The report from the American Immigration Council, written by migrant expert Elizabeth Kennedy, takes an in-depth look at the reasons children are leaving home and embarking on the dangerous journey to come to the U.S.
