bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

moreOnThisArticles

urlAlias

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

paywallTypes

corrections

sponsorType

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

socialHeadline

headline

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

publishedDate

additionalInfoBoxes

images

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

createdDate

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

Key facts in the debate over the wave of children from Central American nations turning up at the US-Mexico border.
 
Unprecedented influx: More than 57,000 unaccompanied minors, from infants to 17-year-olds, were apprehended crossing into the United States between October 1 and June 30.
US officials predict that number will rise to 90,000 by the end of September, compared with 39,000 in all of last year, 25,000 in 2012 and 16,000 in 2011. Next year, the government predicts, 145,000 children will be apprehended.
The number of undocumented adult and child immigrants arrested at the border hit a peak of 1.2 million in 2005. It dropped to 328,000 in 2011 and rose to 414,000 last year.
 
Origins and destinations: About three-quarters of the child migrants come from El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras. The number of Honduran children apprehended increased from 968 in 2009 to 15,000 this year.
The vast majority were arrested in the Rio Grande Valley in southern Texas. And unlike in previous migration waves, "this population for the most part wants to be apprehended", Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson told lawmakers. "They're not seeking to evade law enforcement."
 
The deportation gamble: Until recently, only about 1,800 unaccompanied children were deported each year by US authorities, following rulings by immigration courts. Obama's Republican critics say that makes for good odds for parents sending children to the US illegally.
Obama and Congress are considering amending an anti-trafficking law from 2008 in order to accelerate the deportations of migrants from non-border countries.
 
Huge border: The US and Mexico share a 3,140km frontier, one of the world's longest.
In Arizona, California and New Mexico, the border is defined almost entirely by barriers or fencing. But the Texas border with Mexico is formed by the Rio Grande and is much more porous. Arrests of undocumented immigrants are concentrated in the area around the city of McAllen, in southern Texas.
Agence France-Presse


The minor problem at the US-Mexico border - in 9 months, 57,000 children arrested

A group of immigrants from Honduras and El Salvador who crossed the US-Mexico border illegally are stopped in Granjeno, Texas. Photo: AP

News

World

Key facts in the debate over the wave of children from Central American nations turning up at the US-Mexico border.
