Mexico to launch new protocol to help unaccompanied migrant children

The pilot project launched last Sunday in the consulates in Portland, Oregon, Brownsville and McAllen seeks to help authorities determine if unaccompanied migrant children need to reunite with their families or if it is necessary to request asylum in the United States.

Mexico's government will start applying a new protocol in May to help Mexican migrant children.

The pilot project launched last Sunday in the consulates in Portland, Oregon, Brownsville and McAllen seeks to help authorities determine if unaccompanied migrant children need to reunite with their families or if it is necessary to request asylum in the United States.

"This is unprecedented, because before children were asked about their health, if they suffered human rights violations or if they had complaints about their deportation proceedings, but the new protocol is focused on understanding their family situation and circumstances to migrate," said Reyna Torres, director of Protection of Mexicans Abroad.

The protocol, created with the help of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), includes images so that children can identify their migration route or the type of officer that arrested them.

The information obtained will be included in a database that will be shared with the National Immigration Institute (INM) and the System for the Integral Development of Families (DIF).