Migrant minors tested for age in Belgium

An article from Belgium, translated from French by The Google, “Eight objectives to streamline the approach to unaccompanied foreign minors”:

Today, 2670 young people are welcomed in the Fedasil network and by the communities, compared to 1029 in 2019. In 2021, Belgium saw a total of 3351 young people who declared themselves minors. The Guardianship Service of the FPS Justice carried out 2515 age tests to verify these declarations. In total, 2435 decisions were made: at the end of the test, 69% were declared major and 31% were declared minors.

If migrants are undocumented, how can an “age test” be performed?

(Based on the folks whom I’ve talked to, the U.S. doesn’t try to do this. A migrant who identifies him/her/zir/theirself as a minor is a minor.)

5 thoughts on “Migrant minors tested for age in Belgium

  1. If migrants are undocumented, how can an “age test” be performed?

    Can they cut off a limb and count the rings?

  2. > If migrants are undocumented, how can an “age test” be performed?

    Dental exam: “Third molars are the only teeth that will complete their root formation postonset of puberty and that can be anywhere from 18 to 25 years plus threshold.”

  3. Dental exams as said, but they also measure wrist and knee sizes.

    Related: I once talked with a psychiatrist relative in Paris who evaluates illegal immigrants about to be expulsed. (Yes, it happens.) He mingles with all kind of interpreters and told me that it is extremely easy for them to find out if one lies about their origin. First there’s the accent, the vernacular expressions of the place. Then they are asked questions that only a local could answer correctly. If one claims to be from Iraq for example, they are asked questions such as where’s the bazaar in Baghdad, what’s the best football team in the province X etc. But the interpreter must be local too. So if one claims he’s from Syria then a Syrian interpreter is required.

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