An Analysis of the Empirical Assumptions v. the Reality of Noncitizen Children Encountered at the U.S. – Mexico Border

The United States' treatment of undocumented refugee minors violates many international refugee and asylum laws and treaties. It further perpetuates and encourages scientifically proven harm and trauma inflicted upon vulnerable populations. Regardless, U.S. policies, specifically Title 42 protocols, continually reinforce these violations. This paper seeks to address the discrepancy between published media accounts of border encounters with children and the reality of these children and broader factors which led them to migrate. Through an examination of international treaties and national policies, a relevant literature review, and an analysis of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) media publications and data, this paper argues that the negative treatment and perception of child migrants is a result of an assumption that these undocumented children crossing the Southern border are inherently bad and in the United States as a result of their guardians careless decisions. I explain how this conception is enforced by border control's the media narrations.