The deportations of child migrants have already begun, and if President Obama gets his way, many more will follow. On Thursday, outgoing U.N. Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay said the U.S. ought to protect the roughly 57,000 child migrants who’ve arrived here this year by themselves.

"I am particularly concerned because the United States appears to be taking steps to deport most of these children back," Pillay told Reuters. "There are almost 100 reports of physical, verbal and sexual abuse by agents towards the children filed in a complaint by NGOs [non-governmental organizations]."

Reuters‘ Stephanie Nebehay reported:

But Pillay said children should only be deported if their protection was guaranteed in the countries that are returned to.

Those needing international protection should be identified and granted protection in the United States, she said.

Mandatory detention of child migrants should only be a "last resort option" as it contravenes the legal principle of upholding a child’s best interests, she added.