Children and Migration

Millions of children around the world are affected by migration. This includes girls and boys who migrate within and between countries (usually with their families but sometimes on their own), as well as children ‘left behind’ when their parents or caregivers migrate in search of economic opportunities. Be it forced or voluntary, by adults or children, migration affects children’s care situations and can entail risks to their protection.

Children on the move: Like adults, children often migrate in an attempt to build a better life – to escape poverty, discrimination or conflict, and to find education, employment and other opportunities. Others relocate due to an unstable or difficult family environment, such as the loss of a parent, or neglect or abuse from a caregiver. Children may migrate with or without their families, and their movements may be temporary, seasonal or permanent.

While migration can open up new opportunities for children, it can also expose them to harmful care situations, chronic poverty, violence and exploitation. During transit and at their destination, migrant children may end up in unsafe institutions, detention centres, on the streets or in overcrowded, poor-quality accommodation. Others who migrate to join households (e.g. for fostering, education, domestic work or apprenticeships) may be subjected to exploitation. Many migrant children, particularly those without documentation, end up without access to education, protection or basic services, while discrimination and language barriers make it difficult for them to reintegrate into new communities.

Children left behind. An increasing number of children around the world are also adversely affected when migrating parents leave home to seek out employment or economic opportunities (often in urban centres). While children may gain materially from remittances sent home, the absence of a parent may be detrimental to their social and psychological development. In particular, the nature and quality of children’s care relationships may suffer as they adjust to life without a loved caregiver and try to replace a physically and emotionally nurturing relationship with someone new.

Studies from around the world indicate that children left behind by migrating caretakers face education, health and psychosocial problems, including deteriorating academic performance and lower school attendance, greater risk of drug abuse, early pregnancy, involvement in criminal activities and social dysfunction. Left behind children may suffer from low self-esteem and feelings of abandonment, and in the worst cases may be vulnerable to violence, abuse and trafficking. While new or remaining caretakers can offer children a protective and caring environment they may also struggle to care for them without support, and breakdown of these relationships can sometimes result in children’s placement in harmful institutional care.

The documents in this section focus on the impact of migration on children’s care situations, and outline policy, advocacy and programmatic measures to enhance child migrants’ protection.

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The "Children of War" Platform Launches in Ukraine

Office of the President of Ukraine, 17 Oct 2022

The "Children of War" platform was created on behalf of the Office of the President of Ukraine as a tool for finding children, rescuing them and liberating them from places of forced displacement or deportation.

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The Transformation Process of Casa Eudes of the Congregation of Our Lady of Charity of the Good Shepherd in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico

Changing the Way We Care, 07 Oct 2022

This case study highlights the transition of the Sisters of Our Lady of Charity of the Good Shepherd in Ciudad Juarez. It is an honest look at the emotional, logistical, and practical elements involved in transitioning from a residential care model which existed for more than 100 years to a provider of community-based and family-centered services.

Reunifying or Leaving a Child Behind: How Official and Unofficial State Selection Shape Family Immigration in France

Julia Descamps, Cris Beauchemin, 29 Sep 2022

This paper aims to analyse how State policies, on the book and in practice, shape family reunification. It focuses on child migration under constraint in France, by analysing the timing and factors of (non-)reunification among foreign immigrants, whose legal conditions for family reunification are much more restrictive than for those who obtained the French citizenship.

Pathways to Statelessness and Parent-Child Separation Among Uyghurs in Turkey

Marie-Ève Melanson, 19 Sep 2022

This paper contributes to the scholarship on refugee law and resettlement by exploring the ways in which the crisis in the Uyghur homeland in Turkey has impacted and continues to impact Uyghurs’ refugee narratives and priorities as they reorganize their lives in the diaspora.

Reunifying or Leaving a Child Behind: How Official and Unofficial State Selection Shape Family Immigration in France

Julia Descamps, Cris Beauchemin, 11 Sep 2022

Mental Health of Unaccompanied Refugee Minors in Europe: A Systematic Review

Andrea Daniel-Calveras, Nuria Baldaquí, Inmaculada Baeza, 09 Sep 2022

The aim of this systematic review is both to summarize findings regarding the prevalence of mental health disorders among unaccompanied refugee minors (URM) in European countries since the last available systematic review (October 2017), and to describe associated risk factors.

Family-Based Mental Health Interventions for Refugees Across the Migration Continuum: A Systematic Review

Mary Bunna, Nicole Zolman, Chloe Polutnik Smith, Deepika Khanna, Rosie Hanneke, Theresa S. Betancourt, Stevan Weine, 09 Sep 2022

This global study reviewed the literature on family-based mental health interventions for refugees across migration contexts and settings to identify types of interventions and intervention components, implementation approaches and to assess effectiveness. The review used a systematic approach, and ten intervention studies were retained for analysis.

Mental Health of Unaccompanied Refugee Minors in Europe: A Systematic Review

Andrea Daniel-Calveras, Nuria Baldaquí, Inmaculada Baeza, 02 Sep 2022

Child Abuse and Neglect - The International Journal

The Health Status and Related Interventions for Children Left Behind Due to Parental Migration in the Philippines: A Scoping Review

Georgia B. Dominguez, Brian J. Hall, 12 Aug 2022

Overseas Filipino Workers are hailed as modern-day heroes who enable their families to climb the socioeconomic ladder. Despite their financial contribution, labour migration often separates children from their parents during their most formative years of growth, threatening healthy development. Using the Joanna Briggs Institute’s frame-work, this scoping review was conducted to identify the health outcomes of left behind children in the Philippines and health-related interventions.

Making the Family Relationships of the Unaccompanied Youth Visible: An Opportunity to Include a New Actor in Children Care

Chabier Gimeno-Monterde, Karmele Mendoza-Pérez, 08 Aug 2022

The objective of this article is to identify those situations where the families of fostered unaccompanied migrant children are made visible in order to favor the incorporation of these families into the pathway planning. The fieldwork was carried out in Spain and involved working groups with specialized professionals.

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