Advocating for Unaccompanied
Children at the Border

About our work

Working with Mexico Appleseed and three other law firms, New Perimeter carried out a two-year investigation examining how the US and Mexican governments treat the thousands of unaccompanied Mexican minors who are apprehended each year as they try to cross the Southwest US border. The legal team researched and evaluated the screening, detention and repatriation procedures applied to unaccompanied Mexican minors and the domestic and international legal regimes governing the conduct of the two governments. The research was compiled in a comprehensive report containing policy recommendations and presented to US and Mexican officials and policymakers.

Key Deliverables

• Children at the Border: The Screening, Protection and Repatriation of Unaccompanied Mexican Minors

Key Facts

• The team, including lawyers from other collaborating firms, interviewed more than 100 unaccompanied minors held in Border Patrol stations and Health & Human Services shelters in the US and in DIF (Desarollo Integral del la Familia) shelters along the Mexican side of the border.
• The project team included lawyers from Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP and Mayer Brown in the US and Juaregui, Navarrete y Nader in Mexico.