Law Commons^™

Zero Sympathy: Unaccompanied Minors' Rights In The Us Immigration System, Mahrukh Ali

Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies

This note analyzes the US Government's approach to unaccompanied minors and the webs they must navigate when they are apprehended by the US immigration system. More importantly, this note calls for reformative approaches to children's rights through acknowledging the differences between adults and children while simultaneously taking their vulnerability and autonomy into account. After explaining the migrant crisis along with its implications and examining the underlying reasons fostering this movement, this note discusses the legal options available for unaccompanied minors. It draws on the shortcomings of the immigration system as the system labels unaccompanied minors as dependent children, but also …