Dreams of an Education from Tent Zero: A Case Study of Asylum-Seeking Children Impacted by Migrant Protection Protocols MPP at the US–Mexico Border

Abstract

The Remain in Mexico Policy, also known as the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP), forced asylum-seeking children into seemingly untenable situations and conditions across the United States’ South Texas border. This case study examines stories told by the children of Tent Zero and their parents about the conditions and experiences they faced as a result of MPP. Their stories reveal that the conditions asylum-seeking children at the South Texas border faced have been severe and include, but are not limited to, a lack of adequate food and water, extreme weather, inadequate sanitation, and a lack of appropriate or consistently available schooling. Prior research has not fully investigated how educators can and should work with students who have experienced such severe conditions, which often result in compounded emotional suffering. By examining the effects that the MPP, which was instituted during the Trump administration, has had on youth and families staying in Matamoros, Mexico, as a result of this policy, this case study not only provides a glimpse into the lived experiences of asylum-seeking children and families at the South Texas Border, but also provides insight and guidance for educational policymakers, educators, and communities where these youth transition to and continue in school in the US. As a starting point, all of the asylum-seeking children who participated in this study expressed their interest in and longing to go to school demonstrating both the practical and symbolic importance of formal education in asylum-seeking communities like those at Tent Zero.

Citation

Hernandez-Arriaga, B. and Argenal, A. (2023), "Dreams of an Education from Tent Zero: A Case Study of Asylum-Seeking Children Impacted by Migrant Protection Protocols MPP at the US–Mexico Border", Wiseman, A.W. and Damaschke-Deitrick, L. (Ed.) Education for Refugees and Forced (Im)Migrants Across Time and Context (International Perspectives on Education and Society, Vol. 45), Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 75-88. https://doi.org/10.1108/S1479-367920230000045005