Mexico Stops Locking up Refugee Kids

Mexico is changing its immigration law to prohibit holding migrant children in immigration centers, preventing them from immediate deportation and allowing them to explore possibilities of seeking protective status.

“The implementation of the reforms will help strengthen the system of childhood protection, benefiting the girls, boys and adolescents in the context of human mobility, by guaranteeing them comprehensive compliance with their rights and making their best interest central,” says the United Nations in a statement.

The International Detention Coalition and the Institute for Migrating Women welcome the reforms Mexico made because detention deeply impacts the children’s psycho-emotional development. In a joint statement, both groups state that “alternatives to immigration detention based in the community allow those migrant girls, boys, and adolescents have different options that guarantee their best interests in accordance with their specific needs.”