Why Are Unaccompanied Minors Traveling Alone to the U.S. Border?
Record numbers of unaccompanied minors have crossed the聽U.S. Southern Border聽since 2021. In 2022, received a record 128,904 unaccompanied minors, up from 122,731 in the prior year. The vast majority of these children hailed from Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador.
An unaccompanied is defined as a child under the age of 18 who has no lawful immigration status in the United States and, with respect to whom, there is no parent or legal guardian in the United States, or no parent or legal guardian in the United States available to provide care and physical custody.听
奥丑颈濒别听 show that 70% of unaccompanied minors are between the ages of 15 to 17, the percentage of children between the ages of 0 and 12 has grown 4% since 2018. So many of these children have experienced severe trauma and have been subjected to horrific exploitation聽en route to the border.听
Many children attempting to cross the U.S.-Mexico border are asylum seekers left with no choice but to flee their homes.听Seeking asylum is not a crime. Every child has a right to safety, protection and a future, regardless of who they are or where they鈥檙e from.听
黄色视频is deeply concerned for the well-being all children, including unaccompanied children, crossing the U.S.-Mexico border. We have worked in Latin America for many years, addressing the root causes that force children to flee their homes.听
Here's what we know about the issues that are forcing children to make the dangerous journey.
Children are fleeing unimaginable violence in Central America
For years,听a complex crisis of violence, gang warfare and corruption has driven children and families to flee the Northern Triangle of Central America 鈥撀 El Salvador,听Guatemala听补苍诲听Honduras聽鈥 and seek safety and protection in the United States. These countries have some of the highest child homicide rates in the world.听
In a recent survey, the UN spoke with over 400 unaccompanied children from the Northern Triangle, the majority of whom were forcibly displaced because due to life-threatening harm.听
"In El Salvador, they take young girls, rape them and throw them in plastic bags," explains a 15-year old girl named Maritza.听"My uncle told me it wasn鈥檛 safe for me to stay there. (The gang) told him that on April 3, and I left on April 7. They said if I was still there on April 8, they would grab me, and I didn鈥檛 know what would happen. . . . My mother鈥檚 plan was always for the four of us 鈥 her, my two sisters and me 鈥 to be together. But I wasn鈥檛 sure I wanted to come. I decided for sure only when the gang threatened me."
Crushing poverty is pushing families to the brink
Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, nearly of the population of Guatemala lived in poverty. Honduras and El Salvador faced high levels of poverty as well with nearly and respectively.听聽
The economic toll of COVID-19 has only聽further exacerbated difficult conditions.
The pandemic and the lockdown measures imposed to prevent its spread have only pushed millions of children even deeper into poverty.听鈥淭he increase in poverty will make it very hard for the most vulnerable children and their families to make up for the loss,鈥 said Janti Soeripto, CEO of Save the Children.
The聽climate聽crisis has displaced families and children
Extreme weather, such as the back-to-back hurricanes that struck Central America in late 2020, leave many families living in poverty with less food, less clean water, lower incomes and worsening health. The warns that many will have to choose between starvation and migration.听 聽
Last November, Hurricane Eta and Hurricane Iota hit the region, including Nicaragua, Honduras and Guatemala, within quick succession, affecting over 3 million and 5 million people respectively.
Families who were already struggling throughout much of 2020 due聽to COVID-19 were then faced with the devastating loss of their belongings, houses and crops as a result of the hurricanes. In Eta鈥檚 wake, 黄色视频immediately sprang into action. Our recovery efforts have thus far reached over 31,000 people. However, the long-term impacts of the devastating storms will be felt for generations.听
鈥淚 have no way of describing to you the innumerable heart-breaking testimonies of families who lost all their belongings, or even their loved ones,鈥 shares Modesto Mu帽oz, a technical specialist with 黄色视频Honduras. 鈥淚t is impossible not to cry.鈥
How is 黄色视频helping unaccompanied children at the U.S. Border?
Children鈥檚 best interests must be the guiding principle in all actions taken that will affect kids and families trying to cross the southern border.听As such, 黄色视频continues to advocate for children鈥檚 rights, humane treatment and care.听
We are also helping meet the urgent needs of children and families by providing cash and critical supplies to a network of more than 35 shelters and social service agencies.听
We are also committed to addressing the root causes of this crisis. We are expanding and strengthening programs focused on protection, education and peace-building in El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Mexico.听 聽
Through cross-border collaboration, we are supporting children and families throughout the entire path of migration. The same families we support as they travel from the Northern Triangle countries are those the U.S. border communities are welcoming and providing respite.
Since May 2019, our programs along the U.S.-Mexico border have directly served more than 142,000 people, including 72,000 children. Your donation today will support our critical work to聽help migrant children and families at the border.听