Dangerous conditions in their homelands are leading tens of thousands more families in Central America and Mexico to send their children to cross the U.S. border illegally by themselves, according to a report by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Migration. Citing data from two U.S. federal agencies, the report, released on Jan. 30, estimates that as many as 60,000 children traveling without relatives might enter the country this fiscal year. The report cited data from the U.S. Office of Refugee Resettlement, showing that an average of 6,800 unaccompanied minors were apprehended in the United States each year between 2004 and 2011. In 2012 the number doubled to 13,000 and in 2013 nearly doubled again to more than 24,000. Among the primary factors pushing the increase in traffic to the border by children and teens were poor economic conditions, gang violence “and a corresponding breakdown of the rule of law” that have “created a culture of fear and hopelessness.”
Child Migrants
Show Comments (
)
Comments are automatically closed two weeks after an article's initial publication. See our comments policy for more.
The latest from america
Pope Leo I helped to ensure that Catholicism would outlast the Roman Empire. His name is a reminder that our faith rises above contemporary politics and temporal authority.
The Gospel parable of the “wasteful sower” who casts seeds on fertile soil as well as on a rocky path “is an image of the way God loves us,” Pope Leo XIV told 40,000 visitors and pilgrims at his first weekly general audience.
“These proposed changes threaten access to care for millions of Americans, particularly those in underserved areas, where our member systems work every day to provide quality, compassionate care.”
The Archdiocese of Chicago has scheduled a Mass and a special program to celebrate the election and inauguration of Pope Leo XIV, a native son of the Windy City.