AMETH 453 (14474) Latin@ Perspectives
Children and Adolescents: Migrants as Refugees
Instructor: Dr. Norma A. Valenzuela
Email: nvalenz@asu.edu
Meeting Days/Times: MWF 11:30-12:20
Location: Dickens Hall 207
Issues we will explore:
According to a report from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, 58 percent of the 400 youth (the agency interviewed)
"had suffered, been threatened, or feared serious harm" that might merit international protection. "This is becoming less like an
immigration issue and much more like a refugee issue," says Wendy Young, executive director of Kids in Need of Defense (KIND), a
DC-based nonprofit that helps unaccompanied immigrant kids find pro bono legal services. "Because this really is a forced migration.
This is not kids choosing voluntarily to leave."
v What are the implications of the 70,000+ children and adolescents that will arrive at the U.S.-Mexico border?
v What are the historical, political, and economic reasons for traveling north?
v Does the media perpetuate the demonizing of children and adolescent Latin American refugees?
v As a nation, do we have the moral obligation to ensure the safety, well-being, and that those eligible for refugee protections, or related
status, afforded that right?