Meanwhile, during the same period from 2020-2024, 115,622 Mexican children were returned to their home country from the United States. More than half of these were unaccompanied adolescents. The main receiving states were Sonora, Tamaulipas, Chihuahua, and Baja California, and the states of origin were Chiapas, Guerrero, Tamaulipas, Guanajuato, and Veracruz.
These children, whether they emigrate, transit, return, or stay in Mexico, face multiple risks, vulnerability, and discrimination due to the displacement experience itself and to factors such as their age, gender, ethnicity, nationality, immigration status, and accompanied/unaccompanied status. These circumstances call for decisive action by society and the State to promote, guarantee, and protect their rights, even more so if they are unaccompanied.
Mexico has a legal and institutional framework based on equality and a children’s rights approach that allows for mainstreaming the best interests of children and prioritizing the safety, well-being, and rights of children on the move in all laws, public policies, programs, and government actions.
KIND has identified three strategic areas for action in Mexico: safe and dignified reception, rights protection, and effective social inclusion. To continue making progress in furthering the protection and restoration of the rights of children in the context of migration, especially for children who are unaccompanied or separated, KIND developed the following comprehensive recommendations, organized around 11 priority areas. Based on KIND’s daily work with and for children in Mexico, as well as our regional and global experience, this thematic agenda addresses the unique situations, needs, and challenges displaced children face in Mexico. These recommendations should inform the design and implementation of comprehensive and inclusive public policies, attentive to the different moments and stages of children’s lives and development.
