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Subscribe to RSSMore than 8,000 unaccompanied migrant youths – mostly from Central America -- have been taken into custody this year, double the number taken into custody at this time last year. NBC's Mark Potter reports.
By Mark Potter, NBC News correspondent
EDINBURG, Texas -- A cell phone call from a Spanish-speaking man who said he and others were locked in a house brought police to a dirt road on the outskirts of town. There they found three small homes used as "stash houses" to hide 117 illegal immigrants, including 10 children, who had just been smuggled across the Mexican border into the United States.
One of the homes had barred windows and a padlocked door. "Approximately 50 undocumented people were inside the residence," said Edinburg Police Chief Rolando Castañeda. "There was no running water, very minimal food; it was pretty tough for them."
Texas is responsible for regulating the care of thousands of unaccompanied children crossing the U.S.-Mexico border. The Department of Health and Human Services is concerned about the future of these children.
Of the 10 boys locked with the adults inside the house, officials said, nine were unaccompanied, meaning they were traveling without their parents or adult guardians.
"They were being treated like animals," said Castañeda. "There was a lot of desperation, there was a lot of fear in their eyes."
All the children were taken to a local hospital, apparently suffering from dehydration.
Child detentions double
Federal authorities said the number of children detained after illegally entering the United States is rising dramatically.
According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 8,327 unaccompanied minors were taken into the care of the Office of Refugee Resettlement from October 2011 to May 2012, after being picked up by the U.S. Border Patrol and Customs officials. That number is more than double the 4,016 unaccompanied migrant children detained during the same period last fiscal year.
"Why this is happening we're still trying to figure out. The kids are primarily coming from Central America, with Guatemala being the top sending country, El Salvador the second," said Wendy Young, the executive director of Kids In Need of Defense, a legal aid group.
With the flood of unaccompanied minors coming across the border, local law enforcement are most likely to be the first contact with these children.
Child advocates suggested many of these children, mostly teenage boys, are fleeing drug and gang violence in Central America. Another theory is that Central American and Mexican parents already living in the United States illegally, and who are afraid to return home and face the prospect of being caught by U.S. border officials, will often hire smugglers to bring their children to them, paying thousands of dollars per child.
"Children are typically not the ones making the decision to come to the United States. Either someone is forcing them to leave their country or somebody is sending them," said Young. "As soon as a child crosses the international border alone, that should be a red flag to us that the child is in need and to remember to treat these children as children first and immigrants second."
The U.S. Border Patrol reported that so far this fiscal year it has caught 15,590 unaccompanied immigrant minors, compared to 10,776 this time in 2011 and 13,267 this time in 2,010.
Typically, children from Mexico apprehended after crossing the border are quickly turned over to Mexican authorities for a hasty return to their country. Children from Central America are more likely to be taken into U.S. custody until their immigration status is determined and asylum claims can be adjudicated.
Shelters stretched thin
With the rapid rise in detentions of unaccompanied minors this year, federal authorities have had to scramble to find enough shelters to properly house them until relatives or guardians can be located to take custody. One decision making headlines recently was the use of barracks at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas, to temporarily house some 200 immigrant children.
Normally, U.S. Border Patrol agents would quickly hand over any unaccompanied children they catch to other authorities. But recently they've had to spend a lot more time and resources caring for the children while officials try to find bed space elsewhere.
Stephanie Goodman, of the Texas Health and Human Services Commission, said state officials received pleas for help this year from the U.S. government. "We got a call in late February this year saying, ‘Hey, there's an influx of children coming in and we may need your help in expanding capacity,’" she said. "In early March it was sort of a mad dash -- ‘Can you help us set up shelters in gymnasiums’ and things like that, because we have these kids sleeping in Border Patrol jail cells."
Child advocates worry that the rise in children held by the government will make it difficult to properly house all of them and to find enough volunteer attorneys to represent them before immigration judges.
"It is really important to find a lawyer for them who can take the time, hear their story, develop trust with the child, develop a level of comfort and help them sort out do they want to stay or do they want to go home," said Young. "The system is being stretched thin. We're in a crisis mode right now."
Both the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and U.S. Customs and Border Protection declined requests from NBC News for on-camera interviews to discuss the issue. When asked why they wouldn’t talk on the record, spokespersons for both departments said they were not allowed to explain the reasons.
Customs and Border Protection issued a written statement saying that while overall Border Patrol apprehensions have decreased 53 percent in the last three years, the Department of Homeland Security, "has experienced an increase in UAC (unaccompanied alien children) apprehensions compared to the same period in FY 2011. This increase, however, is not inconsistent with historic migration trends and patterns, which are cyclical and vary month by month over a year."
A dangerous journey
Officials and advocates involved in the care of unaccompanied migrant children worry that the dramatically increased detention numbers mean that more children now are making the perilous trek from their home countries to the U.S. border.
"It's often a very harrowing trip, a very dangerous trip for these children, and it can turn into a very abusive situation," said Young. "We have a lot of girls who we work with who are victims of sexual violence, kids who've been robbed, kids who have been abused by (foreign) government authorities or others who just prey on them as they're on the move."
Mike Vickers, a South Texas rancher and veterinarian was surprised to find two girls, ages 10 and 13, walking with two teenaged boys through the brush and onto a busy highway.
Dr. Mike Vickers is a south Texas rancher who sees young children trying to cross into the U.S. through his property.
"They told me they were out of a group of 32 [illegal immigrants] and they got separated from that group," said Vickers. "There was dirt in their faces, you could tell they had been sleeping on the ground, sleeping in the dirt, sleeping in the brush and haggard. They were just absolutely spent."
Vickers called the local sheriff’s office and the U.S. Border Patrol and gave water to the children. "They probably didn't realize how close they were to being statistics and being dead," he said.
It's a subject with which Vickers is quite familiar. He has found numerous bodies of deceased illegal immigrants on his ranch, many of them victims of the extreme heat. Last week, he encountered a 16-year-old migrant boy wandering on his property who took him to see the body of a young woman who had recently died there. Her body was stretched out at the base of a tree.
NBC News
Lorena Rodriguez, 13, spent six weeks traveling from El Salvador to the U.S. border with an older sister and smugglers. She now lives with family members in Boston, Ma.
A more fortunate child immigrant is 13-year-old Lorena Rodriguez, from El Salvador, who now lives with her adult sister and other family members in Boston after enduring a grueling six-week journey with another sister through Guatemala and Mexico. After being helped by smugglers to cross the Rio Grande in an inner-tube raft near Hidalgo, Texas, Lorena and her sister were apprehended by U.S. Border Patrol agents and sent to shelters.
Attorney Carlos Maycotte, who has volunteered to represent Lorena and several other child immigrants, said the word "ordeal" doesn't adequately describe the discomforts and dangers involved in a trip with smugglers to the United States. "It is very difficult, it is very long. They're not getting to sleep, they’re being smuggled basically like cargo, hidden in the back of trailers. It's not an easy way to go."
With the statistics released by the federal government suggesting an increased number of unaccompanied children are making the perilous trip now, many officials and child advocates wonder if this is a temporary situation or if more long-term child-care solutions are required.
"You are still just putting the Band-Aid on the situation when you just expand the capacity for emergency shelter," said Goodman. "You are not really dealing with the issue of why are these children coming in, and is there a better way to handle it?"
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Things are pretty desperate when this type of stuff happens. I can't imagine sending my kids away without me. However I am not from South America.
This isn't like Bush wanting to open the borders so that illegal immigrants can work for pennies on the dollar.
These people are kids from people who realize that there best hope is to get to the US. Why send them back? That doesn't make any sense.
The only thing I wish is that the old fashioned principle of speaking the native tongue become mandatory.
I'm fed up with the gullibility of the American psyche. Can't you understand that the Latin American's have studied us and have DELIBERATELY preyed on our compassion to send their kids here to be taken care of? WAKE UP PEOPLE! They KNOW that we wouldn't send them back without taking care of them--This means taking time out of our normal and busy schedules to parlay with these kids who deep inside know they're making fools out of us. The "Latino" head set is that they know we're fools! Their kids know it, too. Why else would they sacrifice their health to trek miles and miles to come here? Because they KNOW we will take them in!
Bottom line is that The U.S. cannot continue to babysit these freeloaders--at any age!
Have you heard that students in Mexico are FINALLY rallying up and taking responsibility for the age long distortions that their own Government has done on their own people? Let's encourage them by promptly returning EVERYONE who illegally crosses the border to the U.S. We are not responsible for their own country's machinations. If we aid and abet their children, they will continue to send them here--By the droves! There must be some strong commitment to keep these people out unless they take the trouble to become citizens--Like all the rest of the legitimate immigrants who came here and became citizens! Get it? Got it? Good!
Oh Joy ... More Wets !!!
NERM_L; Have you ever visited the CA, AZ, TX or NM borders of just read left-wing internet based articles saying the border is totally fenced and protected. I live near the border and I know it is not totally fenced/walled/protected. Do you believe these 'little angels' have wings and fly over the borders into the country?The biggest incentive for illegal immigration is that they know the liberal left-wingers will GIVE THEM handouts. I blame Obama's pushing for the 'Dream Act' and his handout of citizenship to illegals under age 30 for the large increase in youth crossing the border. I do not call the left-wing's idea of giving illegal's a free ride a solution. The 'uptight right' can evidently comprehend the overall problem and future ramification of any youthful illegal immigration much better than the 'naive left'. Since we no longer deport illegals under 30 yrs of age, they are not sent back. Did you watch and read all the recent articles? I never trust articles that say 'typically', 'usually'......
If everyone thinks about it, going way back when to the time the Pilgrims first started to come to America, they were illegals. The Native Americans were the true citizens of this country. Our ancestors just stole it from them. Children are children and if they are in distress, we should help them out, no matter what. I don't blame any of the ones fleeing the drugs and gangs. If you had rampant murder happening because of a giant drug and gang war, you would flee to a different country to. Instead of going on about setting up guns and fences and what-not, how about we take these children in and show them what compassion and understanding can do.
Because if we do, they will send us more and more until there are none left. Our country must do something about the Mexican Government and its dealings with them. We cannot continue to allow them to treat their people this way and then do business as usual with them.
No, Playing, our ancestors WON it, by the right of conquest, which was universally recognized at the time.
Just because the President of the United States has illegal relatives here does not make it right. MY relatives came her after waiting for the quota.
These kids are nothing more than "Late term anchor babies".
Once the kids get in, the parents MUST come to take care of them even though sending them here illegally should be considered child endangerment.
Why don't we just get it over with and annex Mexico. THEN, they ALL will be US citizens and the Southern border will be shorter and easier to defend. Once in, I'm willing to bet the former Mexicans will guard the border very tightly so they won't have to give up any of their benefits.
Yes Uncle Bill and one received a DUI and should have been deported immediately, instead he is running around loose.
I am very disappointed in our President, and several preceding him, regarding the federal governments policies on immigration controll. Basicly the feds are telling states they have no say in defending themselves from invasions, but the feds insist the states pay for it. It is the duty of the federal gov. to protect states, and citizens from invasions, and to defend our country, and protect the interstate commerce. They are failing on every measure. The free trading blocks are not helping our economy, they are destroying it.
When this country is depleted into nothing, where can we flee to? We need to be concerned about our needs and our children. I can see helping the orphaned children, but not those with relatives in the home country, or with illegal parents here. These people need to straighten out thier own countries, so they can stay there.
Couldn't care less how bad the conditions are - they were in OUR county illegally and we should adopt a "shoot to kill" policy.
Liberal and other bleeding hearts spend too much time lecturing the American people about their absurd notions. Their efforts would best be spent educating and lecturing people at the point of origin about the dangers and problems associated with illegal emigration. It is wasted on and offensive to us who are the recipients of these illegal immigrants and pay the bill.
Do not demand action from the American Government or scold and castigate the American public for inactivity or apathy. These hapless arrivals must never be abused. However, immediately upon discovery they should be placed on transport and repatriated to their country of origin. There should be no issue of sheltering, care, hearings, immigration status issues or any other silliness, just immediate return. This should rightfully place the financial and social burden on their country and family. Show them, and those who send or facilitate their journey or misadventures, there is no happy ending.
Use them to educate their countrymen about the perils of such efforts and that Americans will not accept or enable their actions. They can also bear first hand witness to the “stash houses” where these people are treated like animals, the dangers from coyotes and the perils of days spent on the desert.
We must welcome and encourage legal immigration to this country. However, we must resolutely enforce all ourimmigration laws. Such education of our unwillingnessto tolerate illegal immigration should be made available to any potential illegal immigrant regardless of age or nationality. They should know up front they face not only an unfriendly attitude to illegal immigration, but a swift and firm response.
Enough is enough. Liberals make an enterprise or full-time occupation of criticizing their own country and
formulating responses, which do not solve problems. Rather than generate an emotional “sky is falling crisis,” manage this “invasion” and we will find the problem reduced to a manageable size. Liberals cannot do
this. They have to scream, cry, draw attention, create panels, set up foundations, craft worthless jobs, squander public and private money and of course, do what they do best cause chaos and confusion and draw attention to themselves.
I believe that you have mixed up the definition of liberals with right wing extremists. I'm a liberal and do not believe in half the things you accuse of liberals. Anyway I wish you could understand the implications that we own most of the countries south of our border militarly. We train their military and police to squash any uprising so our corporations can have their plants with extremely cheap labor (slavery). Many of them are deep in debt to Am banks. And like us their population are clatteral for their debt. the US government pays with our taxes to train the police and military at SOA in Ft. Benning GA.
shell-2498074
What you offer has noting to do with the topic at hand. Your comments are just more liberal red herring silliness. Yes Madame or Sir, you are indeed a liberal both by belief and tactic. Believe me, there is absolutely no mix up on what a liberal is. You however seem to confuse anything outside your liberal notion as right wing extremism. It is people of your, and your president's, viewpoint that are moving us down the path to our demise as a nation.
The issue of why they are coming is not OUR issue it is their country's issue. We can control our border, we will have to militarize it and if businesses don't like the wait to bring their products accross the border then they can set up production facilities in the US. The lie that illegals pay more than they take is totally laid bare in this case, they don't speak english so they need special help and they will be burdens to society for ever. Americans are stupid and I guess deserve this, Mexicans call this the "reconquest" and every president including Ronnie Amnesty Reagan have helped in this.
The only way to stop the influx of illegals is to close the border and fine and jail anyone who gives them a job or housing. I think $50,000 fine and 5 years in prison per illegal. This would start with management who hired and go all the way up to the CEO/owner. No exceptions, no hiding by saying "I didnt know" its your company,and its your apartment building, you better know what your employees are doing and make sure they comply with the law.
I find it so hilarious that all these white folks on this discussion would like for all the immigrants to go back where they came from. You should all go too. Your people were immigrants as well who did not belong here. You came and stole from us first. White people don't belong here. Go back to Europe and give the land back to the natives. You all cry about the jobs you don't even want. You walk around here like you are privaledged, like you even deserve to be here. You treat the true heirs of this land like we are your slaves. In fact, many decendats of Central America wouldn't even be here had your ancestors not brought ours here AS SLAVES. Stop running your mouths and you go back where you belong.
Tanya morales - Obviously you don't understand the difference between illegal and legal - being of Native American decent I can criticize. If you aren't happy, go back to where your ancestors came from!
Tanya, once again, our ancestors WON this continent by the right of conquest, which was universally recognized at the time. Or, as the immortal Spike put it, on "Buffy the Vampire Slayer"..."You had better weapons and you beat them. End of story." And as for Central America...those native tribes were completely wiped out by the Spanish conquistadores. Although, of course, the term "native" is misleading, since the so-called Native Americans came here from Mongolia via a land bridge.
Tanya must belong to LA RAZA -- true racists ....
As The Invasion of America via The Wide Open Mexican Border marches on ...
A good friend of mine works in a Texas Neonatal ICU. 90% of these are illegals, the cost is unbelievable, and guess what,,,they are all on Medicaid. Yet a US citizen that can not affort insurance and is working, can not get on Medicaid. One illegal family, welfare gave them $700 per week, so they could stay near the hospital, and be well fed.
She also says that it is well known, that if you are pregnant, or a minor, they will just find a family here to come and get you. Tell you to enroll in school, and nothing will happen. No wonder it is getting worse. This is land of " come over, and we will take care of you no matter what ", whether you are legal or not.
What we need is for the states to be able to deport illegals, and if they do not want to, let their tax payer foot the bill.
Make MEXICO pay for the MEXICANS who are VACATIONING in the US.
Undocumented aliens are not eligible for Medicaid, despite what your "good friend" is telling you. What you have are infants who are native-born US citizens, with "illegal" parents. US citizens under a year old are eligible for Medicaid without regard to the immigration status of their parents, provided they are from low-income families.
Your beef is not with Medicaid. You wish to see the 14th Amendment repealed. Here is what Article I says:
1. All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.
I would just caution that you make sure you want all of this removed from your own portfolio of rights before you take your campaign any further. Meanwhile, I'll be on the other side.
So if we give everyone in this world asylum because they have problems in their country, we'll have the world population all here next. Just think then we'll all be trying to go someplace else. Yes they have troubles in lots of other counties no this earth. How about they try to solve their troubles there, instead of coming here and making ours worse too. It just seems to me that they will come here and try yo change our country to suit them. Why don't they change their country and solve their problems there? It would be much easier to make us all change here..right! Just look out our leaders, they change the laws or make up new ones just so we can help the entire population of one country....Mexico!! We need to all speak Spanish and they don't need to speak English. Just tell me one thing.....is this still the United State of America or are we part of Mexico now? They want to change our country and not have to deal with the problems there.....FIX MEXICO!! We are going to be just like there soon, broke and no one to pay the bills.
The taxes we pay will only go so far.....and it's at the limit now. This couuntry will go under just like so many other and who will help us here.....China, Saudi Arabia. We are so far in debt to both of them now that it will not be long.....
Why everybody asume that illegal immigrants only come from MEXICO....We have illegal immigrants who are not of Spanish descend. We have people from Europe that are illegal. Why you don't talk about them? Because they are white and they don't look Spanish. Why assume that all illegal immigrants come from Mexico or a Spanish country. Illegals are illegals not matter where they come from. Are you more comfortable if all illegal immigrants come from Europe and take your job? Be for real, if you are going to reject all illegal immigrants, then look next to you and ask a Polish, Irish, English, Jewish, etc. if they are US citizens or if they have a green card. You will be surprise. I am a paralegal for a Immigration Attorney and I have seen more illegal alien from Europe coming to the office than the typical Spanish guy. Open your eyes people. Research and then talk.
"Customs and Border Protection issued a written statement saying that while overall Border Patrol apprehensions have decreased 53 percent in the last three years." Why do you think they are making this statement? It might just be that they are not out there trying to do it or that the government has told them to stop trying. Let's see...the "Last Three Years" and what happened here three years ago...Hmmm any ideas why there has been a change. Do you need any hints? Close the borders and we'll have any less!
They are filing across the border here by the thousands every day and every night. This government is doing nothing but trying to figure out how the get their votes. Easy way...give them everything they want. They will vote for who ever gives them the most.....go figure!
I am a fourth generation AZ. I am Cherokee, Yaqui, and guess what, Mexican. I am sure my ancestors wished they could have kept out many other invading cultures as well. I am sure Mexico wished it hadn't lost Arizona, Texas, New Mexico, and part of California. Now that we have had a history lesson, you all got here somehow, and it wasn't from genetic evolution. The answer is not to pick a group of people and point fingers because some of us with brown skin get in the way and do not appreciate it. The problem goes deeper than getting more guns and electric fences. As an American, I have been more proud of how we go out and protect and care for other cultures and civilizations with the God given power we are blessed with. Our South American countries are involved in ignoring the murders of their own children and corruption that cripples it's people. Until we help to solve those problems, any child wanting a life beyond gangs and murder will do whatever it takes to get here as any mother who loves their child would want them to have a safe life. America was not built on using simple brute force, or hate for that matter to solve problems. America was built on the intelligence and problem solving civilization we are known around the world for. Let's get with that program and stop the bullsh** being thrown around here.
Hummmm, well being Full Native American! I say "let everyone go back to you country or origin" this will settle everything on this immigration BS.... for those who wonder what their origin is... where are your ancestors from? If your ancestors are not from is continent go the hell back!
Coming here to flee drugs and gangs? May as well have stayed at home if that was the reason. I believe they are here at the request of the Democrats.Young folks know no action will be taken against them and citizenship will soon follow, along with an automatic entry into the Democratic Party.
"Children are typically not the ones making the decision to come to the United States. Either someone is forcing them to leave their country or somebody is sending them," said Young. "As soon as a child crosses the international border alone, that should be a red flag to us that the child is in need and to remember to treat these children as children first and immigrants second." Yes this is so true...except one thing. You don't see the word "illegal" in here any where. Like the article says, the parents are already here"illegally" and have the pay to get the child here now too. They don't want to risk going after that child.....do they? And it says that most are teenage boys. The rest of the gang is already here and they feel alone there in Mexico now. Any the one thing you don't see here is that most are carrying drugs when they come across too.
The best solution is for everyone to cal, email, their elected officials and demand that our tax dollars stop supporting all non US citizens, otherwise no more entitlements of any kind. Next we need to demand a change to the 14th amendment to require at least one parent be a naturalized or born citizen in order for children they conceive to be granted citizenship. Lastly require all US employers to use e-verify prior to employing anyone.
Welfare recipients should have a four year limit, be required to be on birth control and drug screening. If you can't get off your butt go to school and make yourself employable in four years then "to bad so sad" that goes for everyone collecting. I believe in helping out, I do not believe in supporting lazy people.
Thank you Russell Pierce. Again, if we do this retroactively, would you be a citizen. Let's make this a law and go all the way back. Hurahhh.
We must vote obama out in november to save our country!!
Another issue we need to stop is the drugs that are brought into this country. We need to do more to educate our youth to avoid the pitfalls of drug use earlier and more often in schools. If the demand is not there then the drug cartel will not be bringing it into the US.
It seems that a overall policy of, illegal immigrants are ok as long as they come to us small , cute ,and cuddly, and young enough to mold into whatever we want, has already started.Cant wait for all the rafts full of babies to start washing up.AHHH, so cute lets keep em!!!.BLAH BLAH BLAH immigration problems will be here long after im dead,so i think ill just focus on living instead of caring. After all everyone complains about unemployment,but I dont see any of them picking strawberries???.
I cant even comprehend having to live like that, these poor people and their children the so called human race needs to wake up and know what it is to be compassionate,caring and loving, instead of greed,power and indifference toward others.
Just shocking. For their own well being, load their a$$es on a bus and ship them across the border as quickly as possible.