THE UNACCOMPANIED ALIEN CHILDREN PROGRAM

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The US federal government has created a separate regime for the detention of migrant children who are apprehended at the border, at a point of entry, inside the US during an ICE raid or from a police encounter. This is called the Unaccompanied Alien

Children (UAC) Program.

 The operation of the UAC program is defined by three primary policies:  The Flores Settlement of 1997, the Homeland Security Act of 2002 and the TVPRA of 2008. Taken togther, these form a framework that ensures the following:

• all apprehended children who are deemed "unaccompanied" are subject to mass detention
•  UAC detention is distinct from the detention of adults; they are transfered to the custody of facilities operating under the jurisdiction of the Office of Refugee resettlement.
• while detained, children are placed under deportation proceedings and subject to prosecurion by Homeland Security; this prosecution continues after their release
• families anf loved ones of the detainees must submit to an investigation in order to reclaim custody of the children; the requirements of this investigation iclude revealing information about all members of the household, documents and at times biometrics of family members and so on.
• detention, investigation and post-release surveillance are all officially justified under the rhetoric of protecting children from the dangers of possible trafficking or abuse. So is the secrecy of the system. Even basic infirmation such as facility locations, numbers of children detained, and the conditions inside are keps a secret from detainees and their families, members of the public and the media.

Between 2003 and 2020, over 340,000 children have been detained in UAC facilities. In 2020, there were over 160 facilities scattered all over the country, sometimes located in residential neighborhoods. These are secretuve facilities hideen in plain sight.   Over 14,000 children are locked up on any given day. 

Between 2003-2020, the Unaccompanied Alien Children program massed over $5 billion in grants from the federal government to operate. It’s a lucrative business and has been increasing over the years, all the whle justified as service prosivion, shelter and care.

The UAC  facilities are distinct from "influx facilities" that are opened as temporary sites when the number of child detentions soars.  Often referred to as detention camps, these massive influx facilities are familiar to us from infamous media reports. While these are set up as temporary sites, the UAC "Residential Shelters" are long-term or permanent facilities. They have been operating since 2002-2003 largely with no public scruitiny.