In Mexico, KIND Assists Migrant Children who are Unaccompanied, Separated, or At-Risk of Separation with a focus on Mexico’s Northern and Southern Border Regions.

Children who are unaccompanied, separated, or at risk of separation need protection from the moment they leave their homes, throughout their journey to safety. That’s why the KIND team in its Tijuana, Ciudad Juárez, Mexico City, and Tapachula offices collaborates with civil society and government stakeholders to promote the rights of migrant children across Mexico, particularly along its northern and southern border regions. Learn more about the services we provide to children on the move in the KIND in México Fact Sheet.

Fact Sheet on KIND’s Work in Mexico

Our Areas of Work

Northern Border Team

KIND’s legal programs team coordinates cross-border support with a holistic approach to ensure legal representation and social services provision for children entering the U.S. Our team informs migrant children in Mexico about their rights and options for protection, through child friendly legal orientations and play-based workshops, activities to promote psychological well-being and healthy coping mechanisms.

Southern Border Team

KIND’s multidisciplinary team informs migrant children in Mexico about their rights and options for protection through child-friendly legal orientations and play-based workshops; provides legal assistance with accessing rights and protection in Mexico; organizes activities to promote psychological well-being and healthy coping mechanisms; and provides individual and family therapeutic services.

Documenting Conditions

KIND partners with civil society organizations along Mexico’s northern and southern borders to observe and document the conditions that migrant children face in Mexico.

Capacity Building

KIND provides training to civil society and government actors in Mexico on existing immigration and child protection frameworks, and best practices for supporting migrant children.

Advocacy in Mexico

Promotes and collaborates with government, international, and social actors in the development and implementation of public policies, regulatory frameworks, and institutional practices that strengthen the protection and rights of migrant children in Mexico and the United States.

Advocacy in the U.S.

KIND’s policy team in the U.S. works to educate lawmakers on issues along Mexico’s northern and southern borders, advocates for policies and resources that protect children migrating from, to, or through Mexico, and ensures that U.S. foreign assistance to the region is invested in programs that promote and protect the rights of migrant children on the move.

Feature Resource

Caja de herramientas sobre el interés superior de la niñez y la asistencia y defensa legal de niñas, niños y adolescentes en movilidad humana de KIND

En asociación con organizaciones en México, KIND creó una serie de documentos guía sobre cómo atender al principio de interés superior de la niñez en la toma de decisiones que involucran a niñas, niños y adolescentes en movilidad humana en México y cuál el papel de la asistencia y defensa legal en la protección integral […]

Feature Resource

KIND México Principles for Migrant Children

Read and download KIND México’s principles for the protection of migrant children:

Feature Resource

KIND México: Principios para proteger los derechos de las niñas, niños y adolescentes migrantes

Lea y descargue KIND México: Principios para proteger los derechos de las niñas, niños y adolescentes migrantes

Children's Stories

"In 2019, KIND helped a 4-year-old child in critical medical condition reunite with her mother in the United States, where she received life-saving medical care. Our Houston staff continues to work with the child and her mother to ensure that they receive the legal assistance and social services they need. "

"Alejandro* fled gang violence in El Salvador and came to the United States seeking protection but when he reached the U.S.-Mexico border he was turned back by U.S. officials and expelled into Mexico under the CDC order. Alone and without access to assistance in Mexico, KIND helped ensure that he was not expelled again when he returned to the U.S border to seek safety and was instead processed according to the standard procedures afforded to unaccompanied minors. KIND is continuing to help Alejandro by ensuring he has legal representation for his immigration proceedings."

"Juan* and Roberto* are teenage brothers who fled Honduras on their own, seeking safety and hoping to reunite with their father in Texas. At the border, instead of being given access to the process and procedures required for unaccompanied children by law, Juan and Roberto were held in a hotel in an unknown location for several days with no access to medical care or an attorney. Finally, a KIND attorney was able to intervene and halt their expulsion to Honduras. The two brothers were moved from the hotel to a licensed shelter for children and soon after released to their father. They are now seeking asylum in the United States. "

Resources

September 21, 2022

Blocked from Protection: Unaccompanied Migrant Children on Mexico's Southern Border

As the number of asylum seekers in Mexico has increased significantly in recent years, Mexico has militarized its southern border region in response. As a result, seeking protection has become increas...

March 26, 2021

KIND Mexico: One Year of Helping Children in Need at the U.S.-Mexico Border

It has been one year since the Trump Administration closed the border to asylum seekers and unaccompanied children. While the Biden Administration has announced that they will not expel children who r...

March 22, 2021

Implementation of the Mexican Legal Reforms that Prohibit Detention of Accompanied and Unaccompanied Migrant Children

Human rights organizations in Mexico have been advocating for alternatives to detention for migrant children for over 10 years. The impact of immigration detention on children and families has been do...

October 27, 2022

Fact Sheet on KIND’s Work in Mexico

In recognition that migrant children who are unaccompanied, separated, or at risk of separation need protection from the moment they leave their homes, throughout their migration journey, and after th...

October 27, 2022

Hoja informativa sobre KIND en México

En conocimiento de que NNA migrantes no acompañados/as necesitan protección desde el momento en que salen de sus hogares, durante su viaje migratorio y después de llegar a su destino, KIND México ...

December 10, 2020

KIND México Helps Children Alone South of the U.S. Border

Today as we celebrate International Human Rights Day, we think about our work protecting children on the move around the world. Earlier this year, KIND launched KIND Mexico to ensure the safety of chi...

July 1, 2020

What is Happening to Children from Mexico & Central America

U.S. law has special protections to keep children traveling alone safe, and to protect them from human trafficking and return to danger. Since March 20th, the U.S. has been using COVID-19 as a pretext...

April 29, 2020

Border Closure Exposing Children to Heightened Risk of Trafficking and Exploitation

In the midst of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is turning away unaccompanied children and asylum seekers at its borders, without first conducting ...

August 2, 2019

Families and children face harsh and dangerous conditions at U.S.-Mexico border

Below, a KIND staff member reflects on a recent trip to the US-Mexico border at Juarez to observe conditions of migrant families seeking asylum in the U.S.

June 3, 2019

Blocked from Safety: Unaccompanied Children along the U.S.-Mexico Border

An update to The Protection Gauntlet, this KIND report explains the danger and challenges unaccompanied children currently face in Tijuana and other parts of the U.S.-Mexico border.

January 29, 2020

Remain in Mexico: Unlawful and Unsafe for Children

In January 2019, the Trump Administration began implementing a new policy that requires certain asylum seekers to wait in Mexico—rather than the U.S.—for the duration of the immigration proceeding...

Contact KIND in Mexico

How do I contact KIND in Mexico?

To request training or refer a case to the northern border team in Tijuana and Ciudad Juarez, call, text, or e-mail us at +52-55- 7100-1542 and KINDMex@supportkind.org

To request training or refer a case to the southern border team in Tapachula, call, text, or e-mail us at +52-55-7100-1973 and KINDMXSur@supportkind.org

Types of Cases We Can Consider

Migrant children <18 years old who are unaccompanied, separated, or at risk of separation seeking protection in the United States or Mexico;
Migrant children seeking reunification with their biological families in the United States or Mexico;
For migrant families with children in the border regions, the KIND teams at the northern and southern borders offer consultations that help migrant families make informed decisions;
Migrant families with children who face expulsion to Mexico or country of origin under Title 42;
Migrant children with serious medical problems, including medical and mental disabilities;
KIND can also advise parents who have been separated from their children and are seeking information or services; and

Learn More About Our International Work

Central America

KIND works throughout Central America on a variety of protection issues, including gender-based violence prevention, our Central American Return and Reintegration Program, and working with separated families.

Europe & the UK

KIND is adapting its pro bono model to expand legal assistance to children alone and on the move in Europe and the UK.

International Resources

KIND has a collection of resources from all our international work in our resource library. Learn more here!