Q&A
Clarification on why the current unaccompanied minor situation is considered 'new' to ACS
2:56:38
·
136 sec
Council Member Avilés questions why the current unaccompanied minor situation is considered 'new' to ACS, given the city's history with such cases. ACS and MOIA representatives provide clarification on what aspects of the situation are novel.
- Stephanie Gendell explains that while unaccompanied minors aren't new to NYC, their involvement with ACS is new because they were previously handled by the federal ORR system.
- The new aspect is young people who entered the country as adults but are later found to be children, which ACS hasn't encountered before.
- Tom Tortorici from MOIA adds that changes in demographics of arriving youth and the volume of cases contribute to the novelty of the situation.
- The discussion highlights the complexity of adapting existing systems to new immigration patterns and needs.
Alexa Avilés
2:56:38
Yeah.
2:56:39
I think I think what we're hearing is it's actually slowing down things in in a not good way.
2:56:46
But can I ask one other question in terms of I I a couple of times, you said new?
2:56:52
And the truth is our city has had on a company minors for a very long time and has had in 2014, we created all this apparatus, an initiative to support unaccompanied minors.
2:57:06
I'm finally at very hard to understand How is this new to ACS when we have had this situation going
Masha Gindler
2:57:15
so far?
Stephanie Gendell
2:57:15
Sure.
2:57:15
It's new to ACS because unaccompanied minors are not in the care and of ACS.
2:57:22
They're part of the federal government ORR system.
2:57:26
And so in 2014, 2015, there was, I believe, a large increase in around 2018, 2019.
2:57:33
Those young people weren't coming to ACS.
2:57:36
The part that's new to ACS is that there are young people who are children who have come across the border who are not with ORR.
2:57:46
That's the part that's new.
2:57:47
That has never happened for ACS before where people came into the country as an adult, and now we're leader finding out that they may be children.
2:57:57
That is new to us.
Alexa Avilés
2:57:58
Got it.
2:57:59
Thank you for the clarification.
Tom Tortorici
2:58:01
And I'll just add that I think that much of that change is related to the change in the demographics of immigrant youth arriving to the United States via the southern border.
2:58:15
And, you know, historically, and in the past data, as you cited in the committee report, Mexico, Honduras, other central American countries were the countries of origin of the majority of arriving unaccompanied migrant youth who may not have presented documents indicating that they were an age different than what they are.
2:58:37
And so it's a trend, and we're all working and learning together in order to address it the best way that we can.
Alexa Avilés
2:58:45
But totally new to all of you.
2:58:47
This is what I'm struggling with.
Tom Tortorici
2:58:49
No.
2:58:49
No.
2:58:49
I think it's the volume, and I think that is historically, it has happened.