Unaccompanied Migrant Children Overview
Processing and Treatment by Federal Agencies
Unaccompanied Alien Children (UAC) are defined in statute as children who lack lawful immigration status in the United States, who are under the age of 18, and who either are without a parent or legal guardian in the United States or without a parent or legal guardian in the United States who is available to provide care and physical custody. Two statutes and a legal settlement directly affect U.S. policy for the treatment and administrative processing of UAC: the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008; the Homeland Security Act (HSA) of 2002; and the Flores Settlement Agreement of 1997….
