Study: Unaccompanied Minors Under Age 12 Illegally Entering U.S. Rises 117%

Wall Street Journal

By Miriam Jordan

July 22, 2014

Study: Unaccompanied Minors Under Age 12 Illegally Entering U.S. Rises 117% 

An unprecedented number of unaccompanied minors illegally entering the U.S. are younger than 12, according to a new study, making them the fastest-growing group among youngsters sneaking into the country unchaperoned.

The Pew Research Center Tuesday reported a 117% jump in the number of unaccompanied children age 12 and younger apprehended at the country's southwest border in the first eight months of this fiscal year compared with the entire 2013 fiscal year.

Analysis of official statistics by the independent think tank found that for the first eight months of the fiscal year that began Oct. 1, 2013, 7,460 children 12 years old or younger were caught at the U.S.-Mexico border. In all fiscal 2013, 3,445 teenagers were apprehended. Data were available only through May 31, 2014, Pew said.

"As the number of unaccompanied children trying to cross the U.S.-Mexico border has surged, the increase in apprehensions among children ages 12 and younger has been far greater than among teens," the study said.

From October through the end of May, the U.S. took into custody 46,932 unaccompanied children, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection. By the end of June, that number had climbed to 57,525. By comparison, 38,759 children were apprehended in the 2013 fiscal year.

The influx of minors has receded in recent weeks. During the week of June 22, 1,985 migrants were apprehended. That dropped to 1,260 the following week, 977 during the week of July 6 and to 672 for the week that ended Saturday.

Congress and President Obama are considering amending a 2008 anti-trafficking law to speed up the process for deciding which minors can remain in the U.S. On Tuesday, legal-aid organizations, immigrant-advocacy groups and faith leaders urged Congress and the administration not to scale back legal protections, warning it could have grave consequences.

"The result of such a change will be many children being forcibly returned to deadly situations after only a cursory screening from a border agent or an inadequate court process," said Lindsay Toczylowski, directing attorney at Esperanza Immigrant Rights Project in Los Angeles.

The Evangelical Immigration Table, a broad-based group of faith leaders, sent a letter to Congress urging members to preserve the 2008 law and to respond to the crisis instead with increased funding.

The Pew figures, obtained through the Freedom of Information Act, provide a portrait of the ages and home countries of children coming across the border, mainly from Central America. Many of the youngsters are fleeing gang violence and poverty and seeking to reunite with family members in the U.S.

"What's striking in these findings is this recent jump in young kids illegally crossing the border without their parents. It's not what most Americans have in mind when they think about illegal immigration," said Mark Hugo Lopez, Pew's director of Hispanic Research.

The border crisis has cast a spotlight on minors traveling alone. However, based on apprehensions, the number of children who make the journey with a parent or guardian has grown at an even faster clip, nearly tripling—by almost 160%—in less than a year, according to Pew. In the first eight months of the 2014 fiscal year, U.S. authorities apprehended 22,069 accompanied children, up from 8,479 during the entire 2013 fiscal year.

The bulk of unaccompanied minors caught by Border Patrol remains teenagers. In the first eight months of fiscal 2014, data available through May 31, 85% were teenagers. Nine out of 10 minors were teenagers in all fiscal 2013, the report said.

Honduras, which has been gripped by a surge in gangs, is the source of the most unaccompanied young children coming to the U.S. For the first eight months of this fiscal year, more than 27% of apprehended Honduran minors were age 12 or younger, compared with 22% from El Salvador and 10% from Guatemala. In contrast, only 3% of Mexican minors were that young. Apprehensions of Mexican minors so far this fiscal year haven't surpassed the previous year.

For more information, go to:  www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com