In this editorial, Laura Brigs discusses the issues that children face while attempting to apply for refugee status in the United States. She notes that in 2014, approximately 68,000 unaccompanied children migrated from Central America. Additionally, another 68,000 migrated accompanied by a parent. She further states that the number of Central American child migrants in 2014 was double that of 2013. Briggs notes that when these children attempted to enter the U.S., many people protested their entrance. These protesters claimed that Central American migrant children contributed to the culture of violence in America. These migrant children and their parents were put in detention to serve as a deterrent against further migration.
Briggs notes that during this same time, children who were born in Central America and adopted by U.S. parents visited Central America on “heritage tours.” These children were warmly treated, and their family received adoptive family services. Those from the United States and the children adopted by U.S. citizens are allowed freedom of movement and are welcome throughout Central America.
In this article, Briggs investigates how children from the very same countries, facing the same circumstances can be treated so differently. Briggs discusses how tourism provides a staged authenticity. Children who are adoptees visit Central America under a staged performance. These children are exposed to an open and welcoming environment. In contrast, child refugees are not benefitted a staged performance.
Briggs points out how both migration and international adoptions are a by-product of militarization. Children who are adopted are often done so illegally. Briggs elaborates on the history of civil war and crime within the region. She discusses the abuses children and women have faced prior to 2014, and the circumstances that led to the situations faced in Central American countries today and how these situations cause migrants to turn to the U.S. for refugee status. Briggs closes by stating that these migrations and expectations should not be surprising to those in the U.S. who take advantage of freedom of movement throughout the Americas.