KIDS IN CAGES: THE FAMILY SEPARATION POLICY AND ITS HUMAN CONSEQUENCES

This thesis examines the impacts—physical, mental, and emotional—of immigration detention on children and explores how immigration officials could use immigration resources more efficiently. It collates expert legal and medical opinions on detaining children and separating them from their families in an immigration context. Next, this thesis examines ethical frameworks in both policymaking and the immigration context to form a basis for policy recommendations. It then examines examples of recent immigration processing policies in U.S. and European Union contexts to highlight key strengths and areas for improvement. Using Bardach and Patashnik’s eightfold path, this thesis also evaluates the policy alternatives for processing irregular migrants. The combined research finds that immigration detention has lasting negative health effects on children and recommends that immigration policymakers expand case management solutions for low-risk migrants, thus using immigration enforcement resources more effectively.

Department dc:contributor.department

National Security Affairs (NSA)

Grantor dc:publisher

Monterey, CA; Naval Postgraduate School

Year dc:date.issued

2024

Author dc:creator

• Morneau, Colin I.

Advisors dc:contributor.advisor

• Matei, Cristiana
• Peters, Lynda A.

Statement dc:rights

• This publication is a work of the U.S. Government as defined in Title 17, United States Code, Section 101. Copyright protection is not available for this work in the United States.

Handle dc:identifier.uri

https://hdl.handle.net/10945/73192

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:calhoun.nps.edu:10945/73192