UNDERSTANDING THE CRISIS OF UNDOCUMENTED MINORS FROM CENTRAL AMERICA COMING TO THE U.S.A: A Case Study in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina

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Yao-Kouame, K. P. (2016). UNDERSTANDING THE CRISIS OF UNDOCUMENTED MINORS FROM CENTRAL AMERICA COMING TO THE U.S.A: A Case Study in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina. Unc Charlotte Electronic Theses And Dissertations.
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Abstract

Children migrating from Latin America to the U.S. have always been part of migration fluxes. But, roughly since the early 2010s, the number of unaccompanied minors began to dramatically and historically surge. It is reaching such levels that the U.S. court system and immigration services find themselves overwhelmed and inadequately prepared to properly process these minors . In this study I intend in two phases to explain the Unaccompanied Alien Children crisis (UAC). First, I assess current studies addressing the subject through an examination of U.S. foreign policy towards Latin America. In that part, I lay out three major eras and their respective policies: the cold war, the war on drugs and the tough on crime, then the mass deportation. I argue that these policies —albeit unintentionally—over the decades to create the crisis.The second phase of the study focuses on Mecklenburg County, North Carolina. Through a series of interviews with a variety of stakeholders—community leaders, lawyers, teachers, churches and local organizations etc.— I am looking at how public policies are responding to the crisis in North Carolina and Mecklenburg County.

Details
Author

Yao-Kouame, Koffi Possone

Title

UNDERSTANDING THE CRISIS OF UNDOCUMENTED MINORS FROM CENTRAL AMERICA COMING TO THE U.S.A: A Case Study in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina

Physical Description

1 online resource (86 pages) : PDF

Date

2016

Degree Granting Institution

University of North Carolina at Charlotte

Abstract

Children migrating from Latin America to the U.S. have always been part of migration fluxes. But, roughly since the early 2010s, the number of unaccompanied minors began to dramatically and historically surge. It is reaching such levels that the U.S. court system and immigration services find themselves overwhelmed and inadequately prepared to properly process these minors . In this study I intend in two phases to explain the Unaccompanied Alien Children crisis (UAC). First, I assess current studies addressing the subject through an examination of U.S. foreign policy towards Latin America. In that part, I lay out three major eras and their respective policies: the cold war, the war on drugs and the tough on crime, then the mass deportation. I argue that these policies —albeit unintentionally—over the decades to create the crisis.The second phase of the study focuses on Mecklenburg County, North Carolina. Through a series of interviews with a variety of stakeholders—community leaders, lawyers, teachers, churches and local organizations etc.— I am looking at how public policies are responding to the crisis in North Carolina and Mecklenburg County.

Genre

masters theses

Subjects--Topics

Area studies

Subjects--Places

Latin America

Degree

M.A.

Keywords

Central America
Central American Gangs
Charlotte-Mecklenburg
Immigration
Unaccompanied Alien Children

Subject Area

Latin American Studies

Advisor(s)

Weeks, Gregory

Committee Members

Hyland, Steven
Buchenau, Jürgen
Weeks, Gregory

Degree Note

Thesis (M.A.)--University of North Carolina at Charlotte, 2016.

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Rights Holder Information

Copyright is held by the author unless otherwise indicated.

Identifier

YaoKouame_uncc_0694N_11123

Permalink

http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.13093/etd:410