Spotlighting the Plight of Immigrant Minors Detained in Texas:

Published at 6:00 pm, April 30, 2011

Even as strict immigration bills await committee hearings in the Texas Legislature, a steady stream of unaccompanied immigrant minors continues to attempt to cross the border into the United States. Figures show more than half come from as far away as Honduras and Guatemala. What happens to these children, some only toddlers, if they’re apprehended?

Over 85,000 unaccompanied immigrant minors try to cross the border every year, according to the United States Office of Refugee Resettlement’s most recent report to Congress. The children attempt to cross the Mexico-U.S. border, but many are apprehended.

Rosalinda Huey, a Border Patrol agent in the Rio Grande Valley Sector, says the number of unaccompanied children who attempt the treacherous trek across the border continues to rise. “I can only speak for the Rio Grande Valley Sector [but…] we had close to 1,000 unaccompanied children that attempted to cross into the United States for 2010,â€