Thread: Child Migrant Problem on Rise -- Illegal Alien Children flooding US.

Child-migrant problem on rise


By: David Rogers


Apart from keeping the lights on, the stopgap spending bill to be signed by
President Barack Obama Friday is its own “to-do” list for Washington: spending
add-ons for cybersecurity, forest fires, nuclear weapons modernization,
veterans’ benefits.

But amid all the numbers in the six month, $1.047 trillion measure, none
stands out more than a little-noticed $132 million increase to address the flood
of unaccompanied child migrants crossing the Southwest Border from Central
America.

These are teenagers and younger, often riding alone atop freight trains to
cross Mexico from El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras. And the new spending for
these children is a wake-up call of sorts for Washington to a genuine
humanitarian crisis, the government’s own struggles to cope, real costs for
American taxpayers, with no onefully understanding the dynamics of what is
happening.

Indeed, even as Border Patrol detentions are down historically, the tide of
under-18 migrants remains strong and inside the numbers, the population mix has
changed dramatically.

Fewer are coming from Mexico, more from Central America, making it harder to
send them back home quickly to their families. And the result is a near doubling
in the caseload for the Office of Refugee Resettlement inside Health and Human
Services, the department charged with taking care of the children after the
first 72 hours of detention.

In federal-speak these are UAC’s: Unaccompanied Alien Children. Three
quarters are male, averaging just over 14, according to the government. But more
girls are showing up according to child advocates. And a front-page New York
Times account in August detailed the poignant story of a 6-year-old boy caught
up in an immigration court in Texas after crossing the border to try to reach
his illegal immigrant parents inside the U.S.

The Women’s Refugee Commission will release a detailed report in mid-October
on its own findings from interviewing more than 150 of the children. Already
from briefings, it seems clear that the wave of violent crime from drug cartels
and trafficking in Central America is a factor.

“There are a myriad of reasons but the most striking thing for me was that
all the children I talked to knew in advance how dangerous it was to cross
through Mexico and they still did it,” said Jennifer Podkul, an attorney who
participated in the WRC study. “I’m not new to this, I’ve handled these cases,”
she told POLITICO. “But the desperation to make that journey alone. I just
thought, ‘Things must be so bad at home.’”

A review of Border Patrol data for the past four years helps to frame the
crisis.

From 2009 through 2011, the average number of UAC detainees per year was
about 20,500— more than two-thirds from Mexico. Through July—or the first 10
months of fiscal year 2012 ending Sunday—the comparable numbers show a modest
increase to 21,842. But the Mexican portion has dropped to about half while the
2012 numbers from Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador total almost 8,200, more
than double the average for the prior three years.

For the Border Patrol, these numbers are still small in the larger scheme of
things: UAC detainees accounted for just about 7 percent of illegal immigrants
apprehended through July this year. But the impact is huge for the refugee
office which must provide shelter, medical care and screening, all while
coordinating with legal services and background checks as the children are
relocated.

Before 2003, this was the responsibility of the Immigration and
Naturalization Service, and children could be thrown into a prison environment
while waiting to have their cases heard. In creating the Homeland Security
Department, Congress shifted the responsibility to HHS, which is widely credited
with more humane treatment— albeit still in the legal limbo of the immigration
courts.

Lessons have been learned from the current crisis, but it is a delicate
balance. There is a constant push-and-pull between wanting to process the
children faster and find sponsors versus the need to protect and prepare them
for release.

HHS estimates it had been processing an average of 7,000 to 8,000 children a
year. But by the end of August, the total for 2012 was already 12,421 and is now
expected to hit close to 14,500 altogether.

Caught off-guard, the administration had to scramble this year, using
military facilities to find bed space in some cases. Spending rose from an
initial appropriation of $169 million for fiscal 2012 to about $267 million.

Under the terms of the continuing resolution — known as a CR — negotiated
with Congress, the additional $132 million will be added to the larger budget
for refugee resettlement office — the ORR. But most of this increase is intended
to go to the UAC program, meaning its total resources could reach about $300
million in 2013.

“It is always difficult to put a dollar value on humanitarian work,” Eskinder
Negash, ORR’s director told POLITICO. But it is not cheap.

The refugee office estimates that on average each child stays in its care
about 50 to 72 days; child advocates say the pressure to turn around cases is so
great that corners are being cut and in fact, the stays are shorter.

But just assuming the $267 million spent in fiscal 2012 covered 14,500 cases
that translates to as much as $18,400 per child. Part of the high cost is
explained by the required investment in infrastructure when expanding so
quickly. But in the negotiations on the continuing resolution, it took some time
to convince House Republicans, since their draft bill for HHS had assumed a cut
—not an increase—in the refugee office’s 2013 budget.

The opposite is the case now. With the additional $132 million, ORR’s total
appropriations under the six-month CR will reach an annual rate of $900 million.
That’s $95 million more than Obama first proposed last winter. And it’s a 17
percent increase over 2012 and 37 percent above what the House GOP had first
proposed in its own 2013 budget bill.

“The care provided to unaccompanied children improved significantly with the
transfer of custody from DHS to HHS in 2003. However, major gaps remain,” said
Michelle Brané, a WRC director. “The majority of children still go before the
immigration court without the assistance of an attorney. Too few children
receive services to ensure that they will be safe when they are released from
care.”

“Existing gaps in care and services are exacerbated by the increase in the
number of children arriving, so additional funds are needed if we are to
adequately care for and protect them.”

That said, in many cases these same children turn out to be seeking parents
who entered the U.S. illegally years before. And the high cost is sure to
infuriate conservatives who prefer stricter enforcement instead.

Child rights advocates would answer that given the level of violence and
danger which the migrants are fleeing, many –especially those who are
orphans—are not truly illegal and should qualify as refugees deserving
asylum.

A doctoral student at San Diego State University, Elizabeth Kennedy, both
volunteers in shelters caring for the children and is researching the phenomenon
of unaccompanied child migrants as part of her dissertation.

“You can’t separate this migration from the violence associated with the U.S.
drug policy,” she told POLITICO. “This is a U.S. driven problem and we can’t
escape being culpable for it.”

“These are very resilient people to have come so far alone,” she says. “If we
invest in them, it could pay big dividends.”

Child-migrant problem on rise - David Rogers - POLITICO.com

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