[Guadalajara, Jal. April 30, 2019] Among the children we’re thinking of today as we advocate, promote, and celebrate children’s rights in Mexico, are the more than 600,000 American children whose lives cut across the U.S.-Mexico border.

U.S. immigration laws continue to prevent undocumented parents from remaining in the United States with their minor, U.S.-born children. As a result, more than half a million children born and raised in the United States now live in Mexico in order to be with their families. In Mexico, their attempts to complete their education is thwarted by enormous challenges.

In Tijuana, Mexicali, Palomas, and other border towns in Mexico, thousands of American children cross the border every morning in order to receive an education in the United States. Though they attend U.S. public schools, their family situation and daily challenges hinder their ability to perform well and student scores in those areas are among the lowest in the country.

To receive a public education in Mexico as a Mexican citizen, American children must go through the process of applying for dual citizenship. These children report bureaucratic and economic obstacles in accessing their right to education. As a result, some children never register for school or enter school behind after waiting years for administrative approvals. The majority of students who successfully enroll do not receive the extra support they require initially to succeed and many students end up dropping out.

It is inevitable that children carrying U.S. passports will return to the United States at some point to live and work. Once back in the United States, they may face tremendous hurdles and meager opportunities due to language, cultural, and other barriers created by their forced separation from the United States.

The Rhizome Center for Migrants works with local government officials, academic institutions, and civil society organizations, to locate U.S.-born children currently residing in Western Mexico, and assess effective programming for increasing college opportunities and providing a path out of poverty.

To receive additional updates about our work on the ground in Mexico, subscribe to our newsletter here. You can also help support our local community projects with returned migrants and their children by making a tax-exempt donation to our Mexico Project today.