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Forced Child–Family Separations in the Southwestern U.S. Border Under the “Zero-Tolerance” Policy: Preventing Human Rights Violations and Child Abduction into Adoption (Part 1)

DOI:10.1007/s41134-019-0089-4
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Carmen Monico at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University
Carmen Monico
Karen S. Rotabi
Karen S. Rotabi
Karen S. Rotabi
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Justin Lee at Idaho State University
Justin Lee
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Abstract

This article focuses on the “zero-tolerance” policy adopted in spring, 2018, in the USA. This immigration policy criminalized the undocumented or illegal entry of child migrants and their families on the southwestern U.S. border. Those affected were mostly from Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras. The implementation of this policy resulted in the forced separation of children from their families and the violation of human rights of those detained in authorized facilities and foster care. The policy coincides with limited U.S. government case management of unaccompanied and accompanied minors. We examine critical issues to include international conventions regarding child rights and the best interest of the child that provide globally recognized guidance to prevent separations of children from their parents. These discriminating policies and unjust practices have already triggered institutional condemnations and legal complaints at the national and international levels. Informed by our own studies of forced migration and child abduction into adoption from two of the mentioned Central American countries, we suggest how social workers, as human rights defenders and gatekeepers of child welfare practices, may respond to these unjust policies and practices. This article is part 1 of two papers on the subject; the second article is focused on the resulting trauma of those affected.
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Forced Child–Family Separations in the Southwestern U.S. Border
Under the BZero-Tolerance^Policy: Preventing Human Rights Violations
and Child Abduction into Adoption (Part 1)
Carmen Monico
1
&Karen S. Rotabi
2
&Justin Lee
3
Published online: 26 March 2019
#Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2019
Abstract
This article focuses on the Bzero-tolerance^policy adopted in spring, 2018, in the USA. Thisimmigration policy criminalized the
undocumented or illegal entry of child migrants and their families on the southwestern U.S. border. Those affected were mostly
from Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras. The implementation of this policy resulted in the forced separation of children from
their families and the violation of human rights of those detained in authorized facilities and foster care. The policy coincides with
limited U.S. government case management of unaccompanied and accompanied minors. We examine critical issues to include
international conventions regarding child rights and the best interest of the child that provide globally recognized guidance to
prevent separations of children from their parents. These discriminating policies and unjust practices have already triggered
institutional condemnations and legal complaints at the national and international levels. Informed by our own studies of forced
migration and child abduction into adoption from two of the mentioned Central American countries, we suggest how social
workers, as human rights defenders and gatekeepers of child welfare practices, may respond to these unjust policies and practices.
This article is part 1 of two papers on the subject; the second article is focused on the resulting trauma of those affected.
Keywords Forced family separation .Unaccompanied minors .Central America migration .Human rights crisis .Human/child
rights .Social work policy and practice
The latest human rights crisis at the southwestern U.S. border
is characterized not only by an increase in the number of
immigrant children and their families—predominantly from
Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras—but also by the ex-
plicit policies and widespread practices resulting in forced
separation of families. Over the past decade, many of those
reaching the U.S. border have qualified to request asylum,
fearing for their safety in their home countries. Violence has
reached epidemic levels, particularly societal and familial
violence against women (Ayon et al. 2017), which was previ-
ously recognized as a claim for Central American women
seeking asylum in the U.S. (Costantino et al. 2012). As the
authors (hereinafter Bwe^) explore in this paper, which con-
stitutes the first of a two-part article, many women and other
caregivers from these countries often arrive with children, and
they have experienced forced family separation more exten-
sively since the introduction of new immigration policies un-
der President Donald Trump’sadministration.
From a Border Humanitarian Crisis
to the Widespread Violation of Human Rights
of Migrant Children and Their Families
Over the course of the past decade, families have been B…fleeing
human rights violations yet also suffer human rights violations
once apprehended in the U.S., including detention, abuse, denial
of medical care, and restrictions in access to legal representation^
(Androff 2016, p. 76). This migration push is a result of multiple
factors, including weak states controlled by narco-traffickers and
*Carmen Monico
cmonico@elon.edu
1
Human Service Studies, 129A, Elon University, 2337 Campus Box,
Elon, NC 27244-9379, USA
2
Department of Social Work, California State University, Monterey
Bay, Valley Hall, Room B-102, 100 Campus Center,
Seaside, CA 93955, USA
3
Sociology, Social Work and Criminology, Idaho State University,
Kegel Liberal Arts 360, 921 S. 8th Avenue, Stop 8114,
Pocatello, ID 83209, USA
Journal of Human Rights and Social Work (2019) 4:164–179
https://doi.org/10.1007/s41134-019-0089-4
Content courtesy of Springer Nature, terms of use apply. Rights reserved.
... Both the UDR and the CRC defined a set of rights for all people, particularly children (Reichert 2003), and influenced the establishment of international agreements on intercountry adoption. The UDR adopted in post-World War II upheld the right to form a family and the need to protect motherhood and childhood as the right to seek asylum in a second country (Monico et al. 2019a). ...
... Its brief implementation during 2018 resulted in reinforcing administrative practices of forced child-family separation. As discussed extensively in Monico et al. (2019aMonico et al. ( , 2019b, this policy was a response to the increased number of migrant children and their families crossing the U.S. southwestern border. It was also a challenge to the 1997 Flores Settlement Agreement, which prohibited the detention of children for more than 20 days and ordered their placement in child-friendly facilities. ...
... (Center for Gender and Refugee Studies of the University of California Hastings College and the Migration & Asylum Program Justice and Human Rights Center of the National University of Lanús 2015, p. xii). This failed system has impeded the effective and timely reunification of those affected by the zero-tolerance policy in spite of several court orders calling government agencies to expedite this process (Monico et al. 2019a(Monico et al. , 2019b). ...
Group and Child–Family Migration from Central America to the United States: Forced Child–Family Separation, Reunification, and Pseudo Adoption in the Era of Globalization
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Intercountry adoption from Latin America became a sizable, “quiet” migration to the U.S., as evident in its historical evolution from El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras. The recent migration of unaccompanied minors and families traveling with children from these case countries has been characterized by child–family separation, prolonged detention and institutionalization of children, and adoption through various means. This study has been concerned with how both trends became intertwined in the era of globalisation. To address this question, the authors examined intercountry adoption literature and migration-related briefs, legal claims, and news reports. The study suggests that internationally recognized child rights have been violated in the border crisis. Forced family separation resulting from stricter immigration measures has met criteria for child abduction, violating international convention protecting families in transnational kinship and adoption. A child–family separation typology was inferred from individual case studies ranging from separation by death to prolonged or indefinitive separation to de facto adoption. Reunification has failed for migrant children in custody since relatives or kinship members may be undocumented or parents may be deported. The current immigration system for migrant children’s care only prolongs their detention and violates their human and civil rights while turning child abduction into de facto adoption.
... It is well established that migration policy under the Trump administration was unwilling to receive migrants from Latin American countries and to process their asylum applications rapidly (Fullerton, 2017;Scribner, 2017). Media reports and academic studies showing underage migrants and infant children being separated from their parents were examples of the difficulty in migrating to the USA during the 2017-2021 period (Garrett, 2020;Mendoza, 2018;Monico et al., 2019). On the other hand, focusing on public health challenges, Guadagno (2020) points out the precarious and unsanitary conditions under which many people migrate. ...
Intention to Migrate Due to COVID-19: a Study for El Salvador
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  • Mar 2022
Economic and social conditions have deteriorated worldwide during the COVID-19 pandemic. Migration theory and international organizations indicate that these increasingly fragile social conditions represent powerful incentives to migrate. Normally, studies addressing international migration and COVID-19 focus on transit and destination countries, with substantially less literature centered on origin nations. Trying to close that gap, the present article aims to identify and quantify economic determinants that explain the intention of Salvadorians to migrate abroad. Using a probabilistic sample and a logistic model, a number of renowned economic variables for migration studies were used to investigate Salvadorian’s intention to emigrate. Results demonstrated a stark reduction in migration intentions in 2020. Moreover, the risk of losing one’s job is by far the most prominent factor explaining the intention to migrate. Other aspects, such as employment and salaries, also showed statistically significant values. Additionally, results report women being less likely to migrate and age to have a negligible effect. The text concludes by indicating some public initiatives that could be implemented to support people who choose to act upon their intentions and embark on emigration.
... This political shift is characterized by persistent funding requests for a Southern border wall, the indefinite detention of immigrants and their children, and the practice of family separation as a migration deterrent policy. For an in-depth analysis of the forced separation of children from their families during the 2014 and 2018 humanitarian and human rights crises at the southwestern U.S. border, see Gendle and Monico (2017), Monico, Rotabi, and Lee (2019), and Monico, Rotabi, Lee, and Vissing (2019). ...
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Caught between a Rock and a Hard Place: The Gap between Rights-related Policies and Educational Opportunities for Unaccompanied Im/migrant Children in Detention
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This research examines the gap between federal and state legal standards and policies related to educational provision for school-age youth detained in the United States, and secondary evidence documenting the educational services that are provided to unaccompanied im/migrant children in federal custody. The educational provision for unaccompanied youth in detention is both defined as a human right and mandated by federal and state law. But, in spite of legislation and policies at the international, national, and state levels, the implementation of education is inconsistent for unaccompanied children in US federal custody at shelters and care facilities nationwide. More specifically, ample evidence suggests there is no system of educational accountability for education provided to unaccompanied minors and other im/migrant children in federal custody at these detention centers, shelters, and care facilities.
The Human Rights of Unaccompanied Minors in the USA from Central America
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The summer of 2014 saw an unprecedented increase in the number of children from Central America immigrating into the USA. This paper examines these events by setting the context of immigration across the USA–Mexico border, reviewing the extent and causes of the influx in immigration, and detailing the political, legal, and social work responses to the child migrants. This article contributes implications for rights-based practice with child migrants.
Violence Against Women and Asylum Seeking: Global Problems and Local Practices Applied to Guatemalan Women Immigrating for Safety
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This paper, based on broader discussions surrounding gender violence and immigration in the U.S., provides critical information on the historical context of extreme violence against women and femicide plaguing Central American societies today. Drawing on experiences of precedent setting cases of Guatemalan women, the authors offer suggestions for culturally specific treatment of and support for women who seek asylum in the U.S. out of justified fear for their and their family members’ lives should they return to their country of origin. The arguments presented are predicated on the belief that women worldwide share experiences of myriad forms of male domination and gender inequality which, however, play out differently on their bodies and lives in ways that must be accounted for in our attempt to offer them appropriate care and assist them in creating the tools they need to change their circumstances.
The Oppression of Latina Mothers: Experiences of Exploitation, Violence, Marginalization, Cultural Imperialism, and Powerlessness in Their Everyday Lives
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Despite Latinos being the largest growing population in the United States, research has not examined the impact of social structures on the well-being of Latina immigrants; negative social discourse and restrictive laws exacerbate inequality and discrimination in this population. Through combined inductive/deductive analysis of in-depth semistructured interviews, we examined immigrant Mexican mothers’ (N = 32) descriptions of oppression in the United States. All five forms of oppression, described in Young’s oppression framework are evident: exploitation, violence, marginalization, cultural imperialism, and powerlessness. Discrimination places a high burden on Latinas due to the intersection of forms of oppression and nondominant identities.
From Intercountry Adoption to Global Surrogacy: A Human Rights History and New Fertility Frontiers
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  • Jan 2017
Intercountry adoption has undergone a radical decline since 2004 when it reached a peak of approximately 45,000 children adopted globally. Its practice had been linked to conflict, poverty, gender inequality, and claims of human trafficking, ultimately leading to the establishment of the Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption (HCIA). This international private law along with the Convention on the Rights of the Child affirm the best interests of the child as paramount in making decisions on behalf of children and families with obligations specifically oriented to safeguards in adoption practices. In 2002, as intercountry adoption peaked and then began a dramatic decline, commercial global surrogacy contracts began to take off in India. Global surrogacy gained in popularity owing, in part, to improved assisted reproductive technology methods, the ease with which people can make global surrogacy arrangements, and same-sex couples seeking the option to have their own genetically-related children. Yet regulation remains an issue, so much so that the Hague Conference on Private International Law has undertaken research and assessed the many dilemmas as an expert group considers drafting a new law, with some similarities to the HCIA and a strong emphasis on parentage. This groundbreaking book presents a detailed history and applies policy and human rights issues with an emphasis on the best interests of the child within intercountry adoption and the new conceptions of protection necessary in global surrogacy. To meet this end, voices of surrogate mothers in the US and India ground discourse as authors consider the human rights concerns and policy implications. "Rotabi and Bromfield deliver a much needed book; compelling, hard to put down, and hard to ignore. The chronicling of intercountry adoptions-in the North and South Americas, Asia, Europe, Africa, and Oceania-and the beginnings of the surrogacy boom bring together the leading research of our time. Hard facts are not compromised by sentimentality and important questions are posed. A human rights and global perspective tells a story that is complex and multifaceted. Rotabi and Bromfield are not ideologically driven; they are genuine in encapsulating the research and respectful of all perspectives. There is much that is new in this book, particularly the story of Guatemalan adoptions. The lived experiences of those families whose human rights were trampled upon are vivid and the cases of child stealing, abduction, fraud, and trafficking are chilling and frightening. Everyone involved in intercountry adoptions and surrogacy should read this book, if only to prepare for the questions from the children at the heart of these practices when they inevitably discover the debates about their lives and families. This book is long overdue and should be on every book shelf."-Patricia Fronek, Griffith University, Australia. 'Rotabi and Bromfield introduce readers not only to the history and politics of inter-country adoption but also its parallels with the controversial inter-country gestational surrogacy industry. This book makes a refreshingly clear, meticulous, and important contribution to critical analyses of the politics of intercountry adoption and the booming fertility industry.' – Amrita Pande, University of Cape Town, South Africa
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