Being in a Legal Vacuum: How Unaccompanied Minors in France Deal with Biographical Uncertainty

In France unaccompanied minors are taken care by child welfare without the need for a legal status until they reach the age of 18, accessing their rights is not always straightforward. If they are not recognized as minors, they find themselves caught in a twofold “in-between”: In between two public policies (Child protection vs. migration and refugee policy) andIn between two age categories (Minority vs. Majority). They are in a legal vacuum, because the appeal against the children’s judge does not suspend the contested decision (majority). As a consequence the young migrants are considered adults by the Youth Welfare Office, but considered minors by other public and private actors.

In Strasbourg, some of these “mijeurs” (neither minors nor adults) find refuge at the Centre Bernanos, an association that helps them to cope with the many sources of uncertainty: asylum applications, appeals to the children's judge, applications for residence permits, housing, schooling and health care. In the presentation, we would like to discuss how the association, the professionals and, foremost, the youngsters themselves deal with the situation of uncertainty, precariousness and mistrust. How can professionals develop sensemaking projects with them if their immediate future is uncertain? How do the youngsters themselves deal with the daily uncertainty due to their “non-status”?

Our analysis is based on an action research with UAMs, professionals and researchers and students who are part of the French-German research group Migreval. We conducted narrative biographical interviews with UAMs, former UAMs, support families, lawyers, teachers, psychologist, social workers, and associations that take care of UAMs, in order to explore the scope of action of UAMs according to their educational and professional integration. Our analysis shows that despite all odds these young adults remain actors of their lives and pursue their goal of schooling.