Child and Family Migration to the United States: Continuing Flows and Evolving Responses

The number of Central American unaccompanied children and family units arriving at the U.S.-Mexico border has surged in recent years, reaching a peak of 137,000 in 2014. This inflow, expected to continue in 2015, has tested the ability of the United States to carry out its core immigration functions of preventing the admission of unauthorized immigrants and providing humanitarian protection. Additionally, states and localities are working on how best to respond to the unique educational and human service needs of this population.

In this webinar, MPI experts will discuss the shifting pattern of Central American migration and expectations for 2015; why inflows present a particularly acute policy challenge; and how states, localities, the federal  government, and other countries in the region are responding. Speakers will provide recommendations on policies that advance both critical protection and enforcement goals in situations of complex, mixed-status flows as well as means to address impacts in communities where child migrants have settled.