Report: Large Numbers of Minors, Family Units Again Crossing Border Illegally

The Center for Immigration Studies obtained DHS statistics that say the Border Patrol and other agencies apprehended over 2,000 illegal alien minors during each of the last several months. The minors came from 27 different countries, although 90 percent came from Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua. 70 percent were male, 84 percent were between the ages of 13 and 17 when apprehended, and thirty-one percent claimed to be age 17.

On the other hand, deportations of alien minors remain low. Even though agents apprehended about 2,000 per month, ICE statistics show that the agency removed less than 200 minors per month. Of this number, about 41 percent of the minors were repatriated to Mexico – not a country from which the vast majority of alien minors came.

Arrivals of illegal-alien family units also continue this year. DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson recently testified the Border Patrol apprehended 1,622 illegal aliens who came as a family unit in January and 2,043 more in February.

The Obama Administration has been trying to convince the public that the surge of mostly Central American aliens is under control. Officials say this year’s numbers are lower than last, but they still rank as the second highest level ever for illegal alien minors. The Center’s Jessica Vaughan says that, given the ongoing flow, the lower recorded numbers last August and September were only temporary, and that Central Americans still want to cross the U.S. border illegally.

A General Accountability Office report released in late February concluded that the debate over legalizing illegal aliens was “a primary cause” of last year’s surge. Border Patrol agents say most of the minors they’ve interviewed believed that the lack of immigration enforcement would give them a foothold in the U.S. The GAO report confirmed that conclusion but also cited the desire to link up with family members who were in the U.S. The minors also believed they would be given citizenship if they were already in the country when Congress passed a legalization

Read more at the Center for Immigration Studies.