We held a panel discussion titled "The Current Situation of Children in Illegal Immigration."

On December 22nd (Sunday), we held the "APFS Panel Discussion: The Current Situation of Children in Illegal Immigration" at Itabashi Green Hall. Approximately 50 people, including Japanese and foreign nationals, participated. Before the panel discussion began, Yoshida from APFS spoke on two points under the theme of "Together with Illegal Immigrants": "Changes in the Environment Surrounding Illegal Immigrants in Japan" and "Actions by APFS and Illegal Immigrants to Seek Special Status for Illegal Immigrants." He explained the rapid increase in illegal immigrants since the late 1980s, how they, who were originally migrant workers, have formed families and settled in Japan, and the strengthening of enforcement measures up to the present day. He also spoke about the various actions that APFS and Illegal Immigrants have taken to obtain special status for illegal immigration, such as mass surrenders, the formation of family associations, retrial actions, and actions by the children themselves.

In the panel discussion, Professor Tetsuo Mizukami moderated the discussion, and the panelists included a former child who was undocumented, a person currently on provisional release, Professor Natsuko Minamino, who specializes in child welfare, and Mayumi Yoshida of APFS. The two individuals who were directly affected shared their stories and the emotional struggles they faced. They spoke of how they lacked health insurance because they did not have a residence status, and how they were constantly worried about getting sick or injured as children. They also mentioned that the hardest thing for them was not being able to play freely in club activities. Professor Minamino explained the problems of undocumented children from the perspectives of education, welfare, and international human rights law. Yoshida of APFS spoke about the recent increase in "family separation," where immigration authorities grant children residence status in exchange for sending their parents back to their home countries. Participants expressed surprise, saying they had not known that there were children in Japan in such difficult situations. There were also foreign participants who offered encouragement to those affected.
At the end of the meeting, a social gathering was held for about an hour, during which participants, the panelists, APFS staff, and volunteers had time to frankly share their thoughts and feelings. It was a very productive meeting.