Over 100 unaccompanied children ranging from ages 2 to 17 years have been found at the U.S.-Mexico border since November 24, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety.
"I want the American people to see the impacts of this current border situation that we've been in for the last three plus years, and how it impacts unaccompanied children are coming across that border," said Texas Department of Public Safety Lt. Chris Olivarez about the issue, as reported by The Hill.
Olivarez highlighted the dangers children face when attempting to enter the country, describing the journeys as precarious and often facilitated by criminal networks:
"It really shows the inner workings of how these criminals are operating, also how some of these family members, if they are family members in fact, how they even allow their child to make this long, precarious journey to United States at the hands of criminals"
One of the children, a 4-year-old girl from Honduras, was discovered carrying a note with a phone number and her first name. Her mother, now residing in South Carolina, revealed that she had paid smugglers, commonly referred to as "coyotes," to bring her daughter to the United States. The mother said she had not heard from her child since the smugglers handed her over to another group. The girl remains in U.S. immigration custody.
Recent U.S. Border Patrol statistics show a decrease in overall illegal crossings, with fewer than 50,000 apprehensions projected for November and daily apprehensions at illegal crossing points averaged about 1,550 last month, a significant reduction compared to previous years.
But despite this decline, the plight of unaccompanied children remains a reminder of the vulnerabilities within the current immigration system. Olivarez called for greater attention to the issue, calling attention to the loopholes in "whatever agreement" the Biden administration made with Mexico:
"There is no safety mechanisms. There is no protocols in place to protect unaccompanied children"
During Fiscal Year 2024 that ended in September, officials in Texas reported a total of 991,149 illegal crossings, but more than 60,000 of those were classified as children that were travelling alone.
