Child Migration and the Risks Children and Families Face

Child Migration and the Risks Children and Families Face

“Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free…” 1. There was a time where those words held true meaning for the world, when the US invited those who wanted the chance for freedom and live out the American Dream. Now, these immigrants have to come to this country illegally due to the strict immigration laws. The movie, La MismaLuna (Under the Same Sun) tells the story of a Mother who illegally comes to the United States but leaves behind her five year old son, Carlito, in Mexico. After four years of being separated from his Mother, at the age of nine Carlito struggles with feelings of abandonment. The emotional pain of being separated from his Mother is so overwhelming that he decides to come to the US on his own, illegally, to be reunited with her. This movie really shed the light on child migration; the dangers of crossing the border illegally are so vast, yet so many children take the risk. They do this because the idea of being a family unit again outweighs the physical and emotion toll they are about to embark on.

Illegal Migration Methods

There are several ways children migrate illegally to the US. Carlito was brought over by human smugglers. Human smugglers are US citizens that take illegal immigrants over the border for a fee. Carlito hid underneath the backseat where he could have suffered from dehydration and suffocation. Such risks also hold true to children who come over in shipping containers. Another method is human trafficking. After making it across the border and coming close to getting caught Carlito finds a money hungry citizen and asks for a ride to first get his money he left behind and finally for a trip to LA to see his mother. They drive out there only to find Carlito’s money is gone. Desperate for the money this man brings him to a human trafficker. Unlike smugglers, which let the individual who is smuggled in free once crossing the border, human traffickers use them as continued income, selling them off to commercial forced labor or they become victims of sexual exploitation. Had Carlito not been saved by a passerby his fate could have been in the hands of a human trafficker. Rosa came over by swimming/walking and running. Many children also chose this method and brave drowning, starvation and thirst simply for the opportunity to be reunited with their parents.

Detention Centers

At the end of the movie Enrique, an illegal immigrant that Carlito met in his journey to find his mother, threw himself at the police so Carlito could escape. Enrique did this knowing what was in store for him, US Immigration Detention Center and possible deportation.

When parents are detained on their own by ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) their children are sent to foster homes. Once detained