Protecting Migrant Children a gripping series of twenty-four essays written by a number of international immigration experts. It includes a chapter-by-chapter discussion of child migrants and the innumerable legal and social struggles they face. Focusing on the 1989 United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), this book examines child immigration from a significant variety of perspectives.
The compelling Foreword is written by Yanghee Lee, a CRC expert. It lays out the four underlying principles of the CRC: “non-discrimination (Article 2); best interests of the child (Article 3); life, survival and development (Article 6); and respect for the views of the child (Article 12).” The preface frames these principles as the basis from which the contributors focus their essays and sets the tone for the book.
The preface is followed by an invaluable abbreviation list of international tribunals, treatises, organizations, and more, as well as an informative and attention-grabbing Foreword from the editors. As the book is filled with dozens of abbreviations, for non-experts in the field the abbreviation list is instrumental in following many of the concepts found throughout the essays. Following the Abbreviation Table, the Preface seamlessly immerses the readers into the organization and focus of the substantive chapters.
These essays offer a truly poignant look at the plight of migrant children throughout the world. They include many helpful and hard-hitting statistics on these children, their migration location, their age and status, and other significant facts. Several chapters focus on the motivations of child immigration and provide real-world examples of children and their often-horrifying plights. A number of chapters are particularly timely given current immigration debate in the United States, including chapter 9, “Defending migrant children and youth in the inter-American system”; chapter 13, “The legal treatment of immigrant children in the United States”; chapter 14, “Children and refugee law in Australia and the United States”; and chapter 17, “Procedure deficits in protection for immigrant children in the United States”; although, given recent legal changes in the country they may no longer be entirely accurate. Perhaps most relevant today, Part V of the book consists of three chapters discussing children and immigration detention. Additionally, Chapter 12, Protecting migrant children in the United Kingdom, provides a timely discussion of the implications of Brexit on child immigration to the United Kingdom. The book concludes with several chapters discussing challenges and solutions faced in addressing child immigration.
Portions of this book are a bit repetitive; unsurprising given the predominant focus on the CRC, but each chapter stands alone as an informative and in-depth analysis of child immigration in various forms and from numerous global locations. Particularly for those currently working on articles focused on child immigration, the wealth of detailed information on specific international regions in this book would be invaluable. These essays are truly compelling and effective in bringing the many issues of child immigration to light and are informative for novice and expert readers alike.
