Examines U.S. procedures to handle unaccompanied minors. The United States is one of the few countries that detain children, unlike the majority of nations that adhere to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) guidelines. An overview is provided of how unaccompanied minors reach the United States as well as recent changes in custody procedures aimed at ameliorating the harsh detention conditions faced by children upon arrival. Custody of unaccompanied minors falls under the jurisdiction of the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR). The legal standards for qualifying unaccompanied minors to obtain lawful permanent resident status and the challenges children face in meeting those standards are discussed. Minor unaccompanied refugees and street children experience unique persecution, and their asylum claims should be handled differently than adults. Recommendations to improve the situation for unaccompanied minors and comply with norms of international human rights include: creatinga new visa status for unaccompanied minors; expanding the interpretation of refugee to include unaccompanied displaced minors as a specific social group; recognizing street children as a specific social group of unaccompanied minors; and ratifying the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.
