Dehumanization of the Invisible, Traumatized and Undocumented Children Incarcerated in the United States: What are the Educational Implications?

Abstract

In April 2018, the United States of America made it lawful to separate children from their families at the US-Mexico border. The adults were jailed and prosecuted for illegal border crossing under a new zero-tolerance policy enacted by the Trump administration, while their children were moved into shelters overseen by the Office of Refugee Resettlement. Supporters of these acts were not considering the physical, psychological and traumatic impacts children will and are suffering as a result of being forcibly separated from their families. The damage inflicted is unimaginable. Over 2,300 migrant children have been separated from their families since May 2018.