Hypothetically, if an unaccompanied minor who is in a detention setting in the US makes the above statement, what are the possibilities of what might happen as a result of it?
1. “As a minor, you don’t have the intelligence, maturity, or legal right to decide for yourself; you’re staying.”
2. “That’s silly, EVERYONE wants to be in the United States, you’re just homesick and you miss your family for right now, but you’ll soon get over that. Besides, this is best for you anyway; things are horrible in your country.”
3. “Even though your opinion is respected, legally it is only a judge who can make that decision for you, so in about a year your case should reach its final conclusion.”
4. “We will begin immediately to put you in contact with your family and make the arrangements for you to return to them as soon as possible.”
5. There will be no answer, the minor will just be ignored.
6. A combination of two or more of the above.
7. None of the above, other answer:
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[I have just edited out the “will be” portions in the description field.]
According to everything broadcast on the news lately, that custody is temporary, I’ve heard some sources and some jurisdictions put it anywhere between 24 to 72 hours, whereupon the Office of Refugee Resettlement takes custody. Either way, news sources also state that at some point, the goal is supposedly placing the minor with family members who are already in the United States, with sponsors, or with a foster family. I don’t know if that still counts as being in custody.
At any juncture in the process, if the child were to make the statements in the original post, I truly wonder what happens next. (My suspicion is that he or she has become a pawn in a political game, and being returned to his or her country doesn’t fit the agenda of certain battling opponents, so his or her desires will only fall on deaf ears.)
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SpunkySenior 