Thomas R. Dye Established That Public Policy

In these detention centers, immigrants are often denied medical care, even if they are very ill, and served poor quality food and drinks. They are treated like criminals, yet have not been charged with criminal offenses (Werner). Since 2003, ninety people have died in immigration custody. Many immigrants in the detention centers are also often neglected lawyers. Oftentimes, people are waiting six months for a twenty-minute asylum interview (Hendricks). As a result of rights not being withheld, immigrants are getting unfair treatment.

Another important stakeholder in this issue is the children themselves. Almost all of the children present in detention centres are asylum seekers whom arrived in Australia by boat, and are classified as ‘unauthorised maritime arrivals’ (Humanrights.gov.au, 2015). These asylum seeker children all held the same responses to some degree. Their responses were all surrounded by the main aspect of ‘Wanting to be free and safe’.

The Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 (IRCA) is viewed as one of the most important policy implementations in U.S. immigration history. As drafted, IRCA proposed to be a policy to control and deter all illegal immigration into the U.S., but the policy was truly directed at stopping the flow of Mexican immigrants that continues to be the largest immigration flow in the world. Daniel Tichenor writes in Dividing Lines that, “Originally designed as a restrictive enforcement measure, IRCA proved to be surprisingly expansive in both design and effect.” By identifying the unintended consequences of the law, this paper explores why the policy failed. Ultimately, this paper shows that IRCA

Part of being an effective community advocate and a leader was listening to the needs of the population I was serving and providing them with the resources necessary to facilitate the transition into a new country and life. I dedicated time to interview each unaccompanied minor in order to learn about their reasons for migration, most included stories of violence, war, and abuse. The stories I recorded and the research I conducted into each child’s case was used to determine eligibility for services and legal representation. In addition, after becoming aware of the difficulty many of these children experienced in learning English at their new schools, I took the initiative to lead weekly English classes for recently arrived

The writer of this article explains that grassroots leadership and others pressured the Obama administration to put a stop to the holding centers like T. Don Hutt which they did, but in 2014 it started detaining large numbers of immigrants and their families. This family detention is a place where whole families are kept in prison cell at the same place.

The main issues before the Court were two-fold. First, could a six year old child apply for asylum without a parent or legal guardian and secondly, did the INS overstep their authority in denying the application for asylum. Statute 8 USC § 1158 states that “any” alien could apply for asylum, however, the INS rejected that a six year old child had the mental capacity to make that decision for himself. The INS interviewed both the Uncle Lazaro Gonzalez and the father Juan Gonzalez and determined that the father was the legal guardian, therefore had the right to speak for Elian Gonzalez. Elian’s reasons for seeking asylum were “fear of persecution”. According to the uncle, if Elian, were returned to Cuba,

Mandatory detention could result in psychological harm; which has clinical and ethical impacts on refugees, especially for children. This research stated that in

(1) Billy cannot file a petition for asylum on behalf of relative minor child Jane because Billy is neither Jane’s parent nor a court ordered guardian. (2) Jane, on the other hand, has within one year of entering the United States in which to seek a claim for asylum, regardless of her age. (3) Jane’s refusal to return to her country of origin is under the pretense she is subject to physical abuse by her father and she fears persecution, or has a well-founded fear of persecution, due to her race, religion,

Beginning in 2011, the United States has witnessed a massive influx in the numbers of unattended alien children arriving at the country’s southern borders. As thousands of children continued to arrive at the U.S. Border Patrol facilities, resources were quickly depleted, culminating in an immigration crisis with the arrival of over 60,000 children in 2014 (Chen & Gill, 2015). These children were coming mainly from Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador and the majority of the new arrivals were without parents or caretakers (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees [UNHCR], 2014).

Has United States or Canada been more effective with implementing and abiding by refugee rules and laws? Before discussing and comparing which of these countries had been more successful, the historical context of refugees needs to be explored. Although refugees have existed throughout the course of history, the definitions of what a refuge is had shifted and evolved over time. The League of Nations in the 1920s defined refugees “by categories, specifically in relation to their country of origin.” Up until 1950s, the League of Nations, which later became the United Nations, “established and dismantled several international institutions devoted to refugees in Europe.” After World War II, creating and facilitating solutions for refugees were of high importance internationally. This is evident in the first session of United Nations General Assembly in 1946 when it adopted the principle that no refugee who had “expressed valid objections to returning to their countries [sic] of origin ... shall be compelled to return.”

The IRPA is a Federal legislation that outlines the current government’s position and approach to issues pertinent to the intake, protection, and settlement of immigrants and refugees. Considering the broad scope of this policy, my discussion will focus only on refugees. This paper will explore the influence of political ideology that lead to the recent IRPA policy changes following a Syrian toddler’s death in September, 2015, whose family was struggling to seek refuge in a safe country. I will analyse the congruence of the intent of the IRPA with its implementation, and whether the policy making approach is inclusive or not. Recommendations suggested in conclusion, will focus on improving the content and implementation of the Immigration and Refugee Policy, as well as making the policy making process more inclusive and

The treatment of children in immigration detention is currently a major topic of public interest in Australia. It has been law in Australia since 1992 that anyone who is not a citizen and is without a legal visa will be detained when attempting to enter the country. This includes children (Humanrights.gov.au, 2015). These children are to stay in detention until they are either granted entrance to the country with a visa or removed from Australia. There is no limit on how long they can stay in detention (Humanrights.gov.au, 2015). Currently Australia is the only country that as a first resort uses compulsory and indefinite detention for child asylum seekers (Australian Human Rights Commission, 2014, p.10). The conditions in these detention

“Incarcerating minors who have broken no criminal codes is not the solution to immigration for three reasons: (1) It is unconscionable to imprison children simply because their mothers are trying to find a better life for them, (2) The government should not treat as suspected criminals those who are lawfully seeking asylum or other permission to stay, (3) Detention should be a last resort, especially given the available alternatives, including electronic monitoring and reliance on immigration support agencies and pro bono legal services experienced in getting their clients to court.”

The US Homeland Security Act of 2002 determined that the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) within the Administration on Children and Families is responsible for providing care to children referred by immigration authorities (Graham, 2014). Consistent with federal law, ORR/DUCS places children in the least restrictive settings. Care is provided by a network of state-licensed ORR-funded care providers that offer classroom education, mental and medical health services, case management, socialization and recreation, and family reunification services to a family member or another willing sponsor. If the agency cannot find such a sponsor, the child remains in ORR custody.

The past “immigration reform” that the government attempted to implement has not deterred illegal entry into the country. The problem of immigration should not be categorized as a political or economic charged debate within America, but as a humanitarian crisis. For example, United States being the most developed and successful country in the world should discuss with Mexico ways to improve the living condition in their country to accommodate its citizens appropriately and financially assist and support the country in that is in need, only if the country follows Americas plan and terms. These ideas are supported by the article The Framing of Immigration in which the authors states that changing the “framing of the problem (immigration) would lead to a solution involving the Secretary of State, conversations with Mexico and other Central American countries, and a close examination of the promises of NAFTA, CAFTA, the WTO, the IMF and the World Bank to raise the standards of living around the globe.” These organizations are free trade agreements that some may say are intended to benefit the government in Mexico and not the everyday people. This article also implies that this is not an “immigration problem” but a “globalization problem” because of the migration and displacement of people from their homeland at a