Moving Beyond Trauma - Child Trends

MOVING BEYOND TRAUMA: Child Migrants and Refugees in the United States David Murphey, PhD

September 2016

TABLE OF CONTENTS Overview ........................................................................................................................1 Key Findings ................................................................................................................1 Background ...................................................................................................................2 Definitions...................................................................................................................3 Migrant Children, by Legal Designation ....................................................................4 Refugees and asylees..................................................................................................4 Undocumented children apprehended by Border Control.......................................8 Children of unauthorized immigrants......................................................................12 Threats to Migrant Children's Well-Being ...............................................................14 Family Instability.......................................................................................................14 Health........................................................................................................................14 Education...................................................................................................................15 Economic Security.....................................................................................................15 Public Assistance Available to International Child Migrants ................................16 Recommendations and Resources ...........................................................................18 For Further Information ............................................................................................19 Acknowledgments ......................................................................................................19 Endnotes ......................................................................................................................20

MOVING BEYOND TRAUMA: Child Migrants and Refugees in the United States

OVERVIEW Immigration has been part of the American story from our beginnings as a nation. Many of our immigrantsa—refugees as well as other international migrants—are children, but their circumstances are often overlooked in the broader political debates. Emerging science concerning trauma and early brain development provides a new lens through which to view the risks, as well as the opportunities, these children face as they attempt to establish new lives in this country. In this report, we bring together demographic data and other research findings on what are often considered distinct groups of immigrant children, in order to focus on their common challenges.

KEY FINDINGS

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In the midst of a worldwide crisis of children fleeing war and other violence, more than 127,000, with or without their parents, will seek refuge in the United States from abroad this year.

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Classified according to a number of legal designations, these children share a common experience of trauma, which often accompanies them on their journey to this country and for months or years after they arrive.

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An estimated 37,500 children arriving in 2016 will be officially designated as refugees or asylees, statuses which grant them eligibility for health care and social services immediately upon arrival, and eligibility for citizenship after 5 years. From late 2014 to late 2015, there was a more than four-fold increase in the number of asylum applications pending for unaccompanied minors who had sought interim assistance under the provisions of the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act.

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In contrast, nearly 3 times as many children (about 90,000) will arrive without legal status, first apprehended by the Border Patrol, then subject to a chain of administrative procedures that offers few protections and may include detention for prolonged periods; this presents a great many hazards to their well-being—including re-traumatization.

See the accompanying text box for key definitions.


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All of these children have significant needs in the areas of family stability, health, education, and economic security. Separations from parents and other family members often take a double toll on children, since reunifications can also be highly stressful. Serious mental health problems are prevalent among this population, largely as a result of trauma, or anxiety about further separations. Children often bring a history of interrupted schooling, or none at all, and face a number of challenges adapting to our education system. Financial circumstances for their families are typically precarious, and subject to severe shocks when adult earners are suddenly removed.

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Like other countries, the United States faces challenges integrating these young newcomers, but our ability to do so will enhance our human, economic, and cultural capital.

BACKGROUND No country these days can ignore the worldwide displacement of individuals and families who are seeking a safe haven from violence that is often indiscriminant in its victims. The U.S. Department of State estimates that, worldwide, 65 million people (of all ages) are displaced either within or outside of their home countries.1 As of 2015, the number worldwide who are considered refugeesb was 21.3 million—an all-time high. Children make up a majority of refugees (51 percent, as of 2015).2 In addition, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees estimates that, worldwide, at least 10 million people are stateless—that is, they are not recognized as nationals by any country, and thus may be denied the protections and services afforded to refugees.3 This is a global catastrophe to which many nations, including our own, are struggling to respond. Designated agencies, let alone data systems, are unable keep pace with these fast-moving developments. The issues—economic, political, and cultural—accompanying this global crisis are complex, but, from a humanitarian perspective, the consequences of not attending to them are potentially disastrous. The focus in this report is on children, fleeing war and other forms of violence, who arrive in the United States from abroad (who, we estimate, will number more than 127,000 in 2016)—sometimes with their families, and sometimes without—and what we know of their circumstances, the resources and challenges that affect their development, and their prospects for becoming vital, contributing members of our society, now and into their adulthood. Figure 1. International migrant children: Projected 2016 arrivals in the United States

P Source: For asylees, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. For refugees, Mossaad, N. (2016). Refugees and asylees: 2014. Annual Flow Report. U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Office of Immigration Statistics. For apprehensions, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, United States Border Patrol Southwest Family Unit Subject and Unaccompanied Alien Children apprehensions Fiscal Year 2016. We estimate conservatively that half of those apprehended in families are children.

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See the accompanying text box for key definitions.


Definitions Refugee: A child or adult who, prior to arrival in the United States, is determined to have “a well-founded fear of persecution” in the country of which he or she is a citizen, who meets the additional criteria of being of “special humanitarian concern to the United States,” and who is not considered to present a public health, criminal, or national security risk. There are annual caps, by world region, on the numbers of refugees who may be admitted to the United States. Asylee: A child or adult who meets the criteria for refugee status, but who is already in the United States or is seeking admission at a port of entry. Unaccompanied child: A child traveling without a parent or adult guardian, and without legal authorization, who is apprehended by the U.S. Border Patrol. Family unit member: A child travelling with a parent or guardian, or a parent traveling with one or more children, and without legal authorization, who is apprehended by the U.S. Border Patrol. Immigrant: A child or adult currently living in the United States, who was born elsewhere (not including those born to U.S.-citizen parents). Unauthorized immigrant: As used here, a child or parent who is living in the United States without legal authorization. Within the same family, there may be one or more individuals who were legally admitted, and others who are unauthorized. Migrant: As used here, synonymous with immigrant. Regardless of official designation, children in all these groups share one or more of a number of threats to their wellbeing: separation from parents and other family members; exposure to violence; uprooting from familiar contexts of language, community, and culture; homelessness and housing instability; prejudice and discrimination on the basis of color, religion, or language; poor physical and mental health; interrupted schooling; economic hardships; lack of access to formal and informal social supports; and anxiety for their future.4 While legal-status distinctions are important, the experience common to all the major groups of migrant children considered here is trauma. Many experienced trauma (typically, witnessing or being a victim of violence) in their countries of origin, while some experienced further trauma as part of the journey to this country, and may face the prospect of further trauma after their arrival in the United States. Often, the neighborhoods where they come to live are highly segregated, lacking in important resources, and subject to high levels of violence.5 Unless the experience of trauma is buffered by supportive adults, it can lead to toxic stress. Toxic stress harms children’s development.6 Its effects reach into the brain’s structure and function, impairing cognitive, social and emotional skills, compromising health, and contributing to risk for disease and early death. Although many experiences can lead to toxic stress, the most significant of these for the children who are the focus here involve separation from parents (loss of ties through death, detention, geographical distance, or dissolution of the parents’ relationship), and the experience of

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violence, either as a direct victim, or as a witness.7 Numerous studies have shown that, in the absence of supportive adults who can help soften the hard edges of trauma, these experiences can leave lasting traces in children’s development.8 The experience of trauma may not end with a child’s arrival in the United States. Often there are formidable barriers in adjusting to a new country, culture, and language.9 For children, in particular, school is likely to be both a source of stability and routine, and a venue where there are many challenges. Children may face racial discrimination and bullying.10 Tensions may arise within families when children and adults have different responses to the process of acculturation.11 Additional sources of stress are the uncertainty of one’s immigration status, and the possibility—or reality—of detention.12 The human cost associated with toxic stress in childhood, as well as the cost to society, is staggering.13 However, if we respond appropriately to the needs of our newest child arrivals, there are good reasons to believe that they will greatly enrich our society and culture.14 If we do not, these children will grow up with a great many burdens, the cost of which we are all likely to share. In what follows, we provide an overview of the several groups of children under consideration here: refugees/asylees, apprehended unaccompanied and accompanied children,c and children who are unauthorized immigrants or who have one or more parents who are. Next, we describe the circumstances they face—sometimes differing by group, but often shared across groups—in the areas of family stability, health, schooling, and economic security. We include a summary of the eligibility of these children for various public services and benefits programs. Finally, we list selected resources for the families of these children, and the community providers who serve them.

MIGRANT CHILDREN, BY LEGAL DESIGNATION Refugees and asylees The refugee designation is perhaps the most familiar to most Americans, though refugees are a minority of international migrant children arriving in the United States. Historically, the United States has been at the forefront in welcoming victims of war, poverty, and oppression of various kinds. Our country has been a place where immigrants, even those who have experienced great trauma, can create the opportunities that help them heal, and demonstrate their resilience to adversity.15 However, both with regard to total numbers admitted, and the countries from which they originate, history shows that geo-political priorities and national security considerations, rather than humanitarian concerns alone, have guided national policy on this issue. Thus, following the 1959 Cuban revolution, our government granted preferential treatment (continuing to this day) to hundreds of thousands of Cubans fleeing their country.16 Following the Vietnam War (1961 to 1975), hundreds of thousands of refugees from the former South Vietnam were accorded special immigration status.17 In 1980, annual admissions of refugees were more than 200,000—a modern-era peak.18 More-recent conflicts in the former Soviet Union, Yugoslavia, the Middle East, and northern Africa have prompted similar U.S. responses. The current conflict in Syria has produced the world’s largest number of internally displaced persons and refugees—including more than 2 million children. The United States has committed to accepting 10,000 Syrian refugees (adults and children) during federal fiscal year 2016.19 As of early August 2016, about 8,000 had been admitted, according to State Department officials.20 Although it is often used loosely, refugee has a specific, international definition. The 1951 United Nations Refugee Convention spells out that a refugee is someone who, “owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, is outside the country of his nationality, and is unable to, or owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country.”21 c

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The U.S. Border Patrol counts these as family unit subjects.


However, according to U.S. statute, the principal applicant for refugee status must also “be of special humanitarian concern to the United States,” and must not be “inadmissible to the United States due to criminal, security, or other grounds.” To obtain derivative refugee status, a spouse or child of an admitted refugee need not meet all of these requirements, except they must meet the admissibility criteria.22 The president, in consultation with Congress, establishes an annual limit to refugees who will be admitted to our country. For the federal fiscal year that began in October 2015, the proposed ceiling is 85,000, up from 70,000 in fiscal year (FY)d 2015. These figures are further broken down by region (see Table 1); numbers include adults and children.23 On the basis of recent trends, we can expect that a bit more than one third of these—32,500—will be children.24 Figure 2. Proposed ceilings for refugee admissions, by region: FY 2016

Europe/ Central Asia: 4,000

Latin America/ Caribbean: 3,000

Africa: 25,000

Unallocated Reserve: 6,000

Near East/ South Asia: 34,000

East Asia: 13,000

Total: 85,000 Source: U.S. Departments of State, Homeland Security, and Health and Human Services. (2015). Proposed refugee admissions for Fiscal Year 2016. Report to Congress.

In FY 2014 (the latest year for which these data are available), there were 24,647 refugee arrivals who were younger than 18 (35 percent of the total).25 As of that year, 10 percent of refugee arrivals were younger than 5, and 26 percent were between 5 and 17.26 The states where most child refugees (ages 10 and younger, in this case) have settled in recent years are California, Florida, New York, and Texas—together accounting for nearly half the total.27 After entering the United States, some children (predominantly those who were originally designated as unaccompanied children—see below) are referred, if they are eligible, to the Unaccompanied Refugee Minors (URM) program. These are children eligible for resettlement in the country, but who have no parent or other relative who can reliably provide for their long-term care. Once they arrive in this country, they receive refugee foster care services and benefits. As of 2015, 1,300 children were in care via this program.28

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The federal fiscal year runs from October 1st to September 30th.


Figure 3. Refugees (all ages) arriving in the United States, by nationality: 2015

Source: Zong, J. & Batalova. (2015). Refugees and Asylees in the United States. Migration Policy Institute. Total 2015 arrivals: 69,933

Figure 4. Origin countries with the greatest number of child refugees (