Number of unaccompanied minors arriving illegally in U.S. is rising

By Alfonso Chardy
achardy@elNuevoHerald.com

Irene Granados celebrated her 16th birthday while walking through the desert two years ago trying to reach the United States — and safety.

Brothers Javier and Denis Girón, 13 and 17, floated on a raft across the Rio Grande last year — also in a bid to reach safety.

Granados and the Girón brothers were fleeing their native Central American countries where gang violence is spreading. The three are part of a surge in unaccompanied children and teenagers flowing across the Mexican border to the United States.

A report issued in November by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) showed the sharp increase. Every fiscal year between 2004 and 2011, the report said, the number of children detained by immigration authorities averaged about 6,800. But apprehensions jumped to more than 13,000 children in fiscal year 2012 and to more than 24,000 in fiscal year 2013.

Up to 120 unaccompanied youths are arriving each day, and some estimates suggest that the annual number could soon reach 60,000, according to a Feb. 21 story in the Los Angeles Times.

Immigrant-rights activists say more and more unaccompanied minors are arriving for various reasons. Many are fleeing gang violence, like Granados and the Girón brothers. But children are also being sent by families who believe they could qualify for immigration reform — if Congress ever acts on it — or for President Barack Obama’s 2012 Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program known as DACA.

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2014/03/29/4027358/the-number-of-unaccompanied-minors.html