Book Review: Whose child am I? Unaccompanied, undocumented children in U.S. immigration custody

• Date: 01 December 2017
• DOI: 10.1177/1057567717722196
• Published date: 01 December 2017
• Author: Don Wallace
• Subject Matter: Book Reviews

political scientists, historians, or any profession in the realm of international justice. This book is not

for those who focus more of their interests in absolute truth. Meernick allows for the evidence to be

interpreted in various ways. In his writing, he does allude to the notion that no form of justice can

occur without the support of those within legal system as well as the support from the public.

Tribunals alone cannot guarantee human security, human rights require an agreement between the

governments and a respect of values from those such as police and military forces. Street-level

implementation of human rights is a critical part. We agree with Meernick that “this is the start of

conversations, not the end”.

Terrio, S. J. (2015).

Whose child am I? Unaccompanied, undocumented children in U.S. immigration custody.

Oakland, California: University of California Press. 280 pp. $29.95, ISBN: 9780520281493.

Reviewed by: Don Wallace, University of Central Missouri, Warrensburg, MO, USA

DOI: 10.1177/1057567717722196

The immigration discourse that haunts domestic U.S. politics has moved on from the summer of

2014, where the nation’s attention focused on the arrest and detention of thousands of desperate

young migrants at the southern border. In a timely reminder, Terrio offers her book to provide an

understanding of the policies and practices of a system of detention for undocumented, unaccom-

panied juveniles that demand systematic public scrutiny.

When thousands of youth fled the violence of the Salvadoran Civil War, U.S. immigration

authorities had been routinely releasing detained children to parents or relatives already living in

the U.S. pending immigration court hearings. In response to the massive numbers, 1984 immigration

authorities made automatic detention the norm and began the practice of confining undocumented

children under punitive conditions, initially incarcerating those as young as 14 with adult criminals

or adjudicated youths.

With a focus on the stories of six of undocumented juveniles, Terrio traces the paths taken from

various Central American homes and the decisions made by these children to embark to the United

States on treacherous journeys. These illustrations, stretching over the several chapters, take the

children through the variety of processes that confront them once they are apprehended and begin the

process of detention.

There is extensive discussion on developments in the U.S. federal litigation and legislation and

their impacts on this issue. A key event was the litigation that culminated in the settlement agree-

ment of the Flores class action suit. Legal advocates began this challenge in 1985 to the Immigration

and Naturalization Service (INS)’s detention and treatment of unaccompanied children. Ultimately,

the government agreed in 1996 to establish nationwide standards for the custody and release of

thousands of unaccompanied detained children. The various layers of judicial opinions illuminate

various perspectives on the implicated legal principles where the government seeks to detain a class

of people and the recognition of these rights defies precision for application.

Seen as a watershed achievement, the Flores Settlement Agreement established standards for

conditions of confinement and programs along with basic principles for p lacement in the least

restrictive setting and for prompt release of juveniles to caregivers or appropriate programs. Per-

manent INS regulations that would replace the terms of the agreement have yet to be adopted and the

INS continues its policy of automatic detention of unaccompanied undocumented children. The INS

292 International Criminal Justice Review 27(4)