Reception and Assessment of Immigrant Children and Families Seeking US Humanitarian Protection: Upholding the Best Interest of the Child: Policy Statement
Unaccompanied migrant children and families seeking humanitarian protection face health and well-being risks throughout the migration journey. US immigration policies and enforcement practices that subject children and families to detention and separation compound these risks. Grounded in the Best Interest of the Child (BIOTC) framework, this policy statement recontextualizes reception and proposes recommendations to ensure the safety and well-being of children and families seeking humanitarian protection.
Authors
- Sural Shah
- Carmelle Wallace (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8940-413X)
- Marsha Griffin
- Karla Fredricks (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0727-9724)
- Emily Esmaili
- Kimberly Mukerjee
- Alan Shapiro
- J.C. Rosenberg
- Anik Patel
- Julie M. Linton (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2402-5731)
- J. Raul Gutierrez
- Eric Russell
- Gabriela Maradiaga Panayotti
- Naghmeh Rowhani
Institutions
- Prisma Health (US)
- New York City Fire Department (US)
- University of California, San Francisco (US)
- Olive View-UCLA Medical Center (US)
- Children's Hospital at Montefiore (US)
Publication Details
- Journal
- PEDIATRICS
- Published
- 2026-08-24
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2026-078283
- Primary Topic
- Migration, Health and Trauma
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00