The Rights of
Unaccompanied
Immigrant Children
Research Resources & Strategies
Lyonette Louis-Jacques
D’Angelo Law Library
University of Chicago Law School
October 16, 2012
Unaccompanied Children: U.S.
Immigration Law
 U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS)
 Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), updated to 2010
 Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act (TVPRA,
2008)(via state.gov)
 MOUs (e.g. state child protection agencies w/ Mexican
consulate on children of Mexican nationals)
 Standards for the Custody, Placement and Care; Legal
Representation; and Adjudication of Unaccompanied Alien
Children in the United States (ABA Commission on
Immigration 2004 guidelines)
 State child welfare legislation (NCSL)
 Immigration law: Study Aids, Treatises
 Immigration law research guide: Georgetown; CALI lesson
Unaccompanied Chidren: U.S.
Agencies and Organizations
 U.S. DOJ, Executive Office for Immigration Review (2008 guidelines)
 U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP)
 Division of Unaccompanied Children’s Services ((DUCS)
 Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR)
 Unaccompanied Refugee Minors (URM)
 The Young Center for Immigrant Children’s Rights (Resources)
 Immigrant Children’s Protection Project, National Immigrant Justice
Center (Heartland Alliance)
 Detention and Asylum Program, Women’s Refugee Commission
 Forced from Home (October 2012, children fleeing violence in Central America)
 Migration Policy Institute (MPI)
 Unaccompanied Minors and Their Journey through the US Immigration System
(2012, video)
 National Center for Refugee and Immigrant Children (USCRI)
 Unaccompanied Children Program, Vera Institute of Justice
 Kids in Need of Defense (KIND)
Conducting country of origin research
 CIA World Factbook (and current news sources)
 IRB Canada’s Country Factsheets/National Documentation Packages
 DOS: Country Reports on Human Rights Practices; Trafficking in
Persons Report; religious freedom; child labor
 Country reports (multiple links via the Int’l Human Rights ERG)
 Africa
 Anglophone, francophone; Africa, northern, western
 Eritrea, Mali, Rwanda
 Americas
 Central America, Latin America, North America, South America
 Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador
 Mexico
 Asia
 China (East Asia)
 India (South Asia)
 Europe
How to find foreign child protection
laws, Pt. 1
 Representing Children Worldwide (Yale, 2005)
 Sources of law: Civil, family, children, minors codes;
official gazettes of law (Government Gazettes Online)
 Country child welfare, justice agencies (minors, children)
 Children’s Rights (Library of Congress; Int’l, China,
Mexico)
 Children’s Rights (Human Rights Watch)
 NGO/IGO publications
 E.g. Harmonisation of Children’s Laws in Eritrea (2006, PDF),
Mali, Rwanda (ACERWC/The African Child Policy Forum)
 Child-Friendly Laws in Africa (ACPF)
How to find foreign child protection
laws, Pt. 2
 General research guides
 Foreign Law Guide (Tom Reynolds & Arturo Flores, $)
 Subjects: Family, Criminal (for juvenile justice, sexual abuse)
 No entry for Eritrea
 Globalex (includes Eritrea)
 Guide to Law Online (Law Library of Congress; includes Eritrea)
 Basic Guide to Researching Foreign Law (Mary Rumsey:
Globalex; see also her CALI lesson)
How to find foreign child protection
laws, Pt. 3
 Databases
 Subscription ($)
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Manupatra (India)
vLex (China, India, Mexico)
Mexico Civil Code Annotated (MEXCIVCODE via Westlaw)
ChinaLawInfo/LawInfoChina, Westlaw China
LexisNexis (China, India, Mexico)
 Free
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AfricanLII
WorldLII
GLIN (Global Legal Information Network)(currently not available)
RefWorld (UNHCR)
Migration Law Database (IOM)
How to find books & other works
 Library catalog, Lens, WorldCat
 Alternate terms: “separated children”, “minor migrants”,
minors, adolescents, youth, juveniles
 LC Subject Headings
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Immigrant children – Legal status, laws, etc. – [region, country]
Unaccompanied refugee children – Legal status, laws, etc.
Refugee children – Legal status, laws, etc. – [region, country]
Asylum, Right of – [region, country]
Children’s rights – [region, country]
Child welfare – [region, country]
Selected Books & Reports
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Forced from Home: The Lost Boys and Girls of Central America (Women’s
Refugee Commission, 2012)
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Unaccompanied Children Backgrounder (children in immigration detention in the U.S.)
The Flow of Unaccompanied Children through the Immigration System: a
Resource for Practitioners, Policy Makers, and Researchers (Vera Institute of
Justice, 2012)
Unaccompanied Immigrant Children: A Growing Phenomenon with Few Easy
Solutions (Migration Information Source, 2011)
Halfway Home: Unaccompanied Children in Immigration Custody (WRC, 2009)
Unaccompanied Children in the United States: A Literature Review (Vera
Institute of Justice, 2008)
Seeking Asylum Alone: Unaccompanied Separated Children and Refugee
Protection in the U.S. (Jacqueline Bhabha & Susan Schmidt, 2006)
Protecting Unaccompanied Immigrant and Refugee Children in the United
States (Human Rights, 2005)
Law of Asylum in the United States (Deborah E. Anker, 2011 ed. Westlaw)
How to find journal articles
 Journal and News Articles
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Finding Journal Articles (including international news)
Finding Law Journal Articles
Peace Palace Library Catalogue
Finding Non-Law Journal Articles (including news)
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Articles Plus
Sociological Abstracts
Social Work Abstracts
Child Development and Adolescent Studies
 African Studies, East Asian Studies, Latin American Studies,
Southern Asian Studies LibGuides
 UN News, Reliefweb, Factiva, Facts on File, Keesing’s Record of
World Events
 Children’s rights journals
International regime, Pt. 1
 ASIL Electronic Resource Guide: International Human Rights (also
the Introduction)
 U.S. treaties with country of origin (HeinOnline (TIF, UST),
LexisNexis, Westlaw, United Nations)
 International Legal Research in a Nutshell (Reserve)
 Convention on the Rights of the Child
 Articles 9, 10, 11, 19, 22 (refugee children, unaccompanied), 33 (sexual
exploitation and sexual abuse), 35 (trafficking), 38 (armed conflict)
 University of Minnesota Human Rights Library
 Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC)
 General Comments (see No.6), Concluding Observations
 OHCHR: Human Rights Issues: Children
 Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC)
 UN Treaty Bodies Database
 Special Rapporteur on the sale of children, child prostitution and child
pornography
International regime, Pt. 2
 Official Document System (ODS, UN)
 African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child
(African Union)
 Hague Convention for the Protection of Children
 Organization of American States (OAS): Children
 Inter-American Children's Institute
 IACR—Rapporteurship on the Rights of the Child
 Inter-American Convention on the International Return of
Children
 Anti-Trafficking in Persons Section
International regime, Pt. 3
 Inter-Agency Guiding Principles on Unaccompanied and Separated
Children (PDF)
 International Organization for Migration
 IML Information Note on the Protection of Unaccompanied Migrant Children
(2011)
 Unicef (Child Protection; Innocenti Children’s Rights)
 Combating Child Trafficking: Handbook for Parliamentarians (2005)
 Child Protection: A Handbook for Parliamentarians (2004)
 United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR, UN
Refugee Agency)
 Detention Guidelines (2012; 9.2, Children)
 Regional Conference on Migration (RCM), Regional Guidelines for the
Assistance to Unaccompanied Children in Cases of Repatriation (2009)
 Guidelines on Determining the Best Interests of the Child (2008)
 Guidelines on Policies and Procedures in Dealing with Unaccompanied
Children Seeking Asylum (1997)
CRC legislative history
 Legislative History of the Convention on the Rights of the
Child (OHCHR, 2007)
English: Part I and Part II
 Sharon Detrick, A Commentary on the United Nations
Convention on the Rights of the Child (1999)
Non-governmental organizations
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Human Rights Watch: Children’s Rights
NGO Group for the Convention on the Rights of the Child
Center for Gender and Refugee Studies (CGRS)
Refugee Caselaw Site (University of Michigan)
Child Rights International Network (CRIN)
 CRC in Court: Case-Law Database
 Refugees and Unaccompanied Children
 CRC Article 22
 Laws on refugees and unaccompanied children
 General Comment no.6: Treatment of unaccompanied and separated children
outside of their country of origin
 Refugee and Displaced Children: Rough Guide to International Law and
Standards
Child trafficking
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Trafficking in Persons Report (U.S. Dept. of State)
The Protection Project
Child Migration Research Network (UK)
Human Trafficking (United Nations Office on Drugs and
Crime (UNODC))
 Global Report on Trafficking in Persons (2009)
 Human Trafficking Case Law Database
 Human Trafficking Indicators (for children)
Questions?
Ask A Law Librarian!
Lyonette Louis-Jacques
llou@uchicago.edu