News
surrounding the crisis at the border has shed light on the dramatic increase of
immigrants fleeing their countries of origin. The number of unaccompanied minors
has grown from 6,800 between 2004 and 2011 to 13,000 in 2012, and 24,000 in
2013. This year, that number will reach almost 90,000. According to these estimates,
the number of unaccompanied young people coming to the United States has
increased by more than a 1000 percent in ten years. However, even with the
dramatic increase, the unaccompanied minors who have fled their countries of origin
only account for 0.15 percent of the foreign population and 0.4 percent of the
population of immigrants fleeing from Central America.
Some people believe the surge was caused by Section
235 of the William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization
Act of 2008 (TVPRA), which established additional protections for unaccompanied
minors, while distinguishing between arrivals from contiguous countries such as
Canada and Mexico and non-contiguous countries such as those in Central
America. Both Democrats and Republicans have demanded that Section 235 be
revised to reduce eligibility for these protections. However, the TVPRA was
passed in 2008; the number of unaccompanied minors remained consistent until
2011. A dramatic increase did not begin to occur until 2013. Therefore, the
passage of the Act and increase in unaccompanied minors do not seem to be directly
correlated.
Furthermore,
revising TVPRA would expedite the screening and hearing process in ways that could
result in detrimental effects on unaccompanied minors. The procedures within
the TVPRA are enacted to guarantee due process, security and protection against
human trafficking by ensuring immigration court removal proceedings and the
ability to consult with an advocate. Instead of eliminating these protections[IC1] , the government needs to better train
Border Patrol, judges, and agencies to accurately assist and identify human
trafficking victims. Proper training and employing additional agencies to
identify and assist human trafficking victims will allow this process to move
swiftly and efficiently, while protecting potential victims.
However,
providing proper training for U.S. courts and agencies would only address part
of the issue and not the root cause. More than 70 percent of the unaccompanied
minors are from Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador. A United Nations report
ranked Honduras as the murder capital of the world, with 90 homicides per
100,000 people. Honduras is also a source and transit country for sex trafficking
and forced labor. Honduran girls are sexually trafficked within the country by
gangs or criminal organizations. The groups also exploit young people by forcing
them to transport drugs, engage in extortion, or become hit men. Extreme
violence and exploitation has led more than 16,500 unaccompanied Honduran
children to travel to the United States. Corruption and inadequate law
enforcement allows the violence to persist. Although gang violence and
exploitation is rampant in Honduras, there are no reports of law enforcement
officials investigating cases of children who may be exploited by gangs or
criminal organizations.
A
similar situation is found in El Salvador and Guatemala. Although El Salvador
experiences gang and gender violence that may lead to trafficking, the
government does not report any efforts to reduce the demand for commercial sex
acts or forced labor. In Guatemala, children are subjected to sex and labor
trafficking within the country, in Mexico, and by U.S. gangs who recruit
children for criminal acts.
The
border crisis is a humanitarian crisis. Children often migrate because of the
fear of gang recruitment, sexual assault, forced labor, and sexual exploitation.
The TVPRA procedures were enacted to prevent the violation of children’s
rights. If Congress makes revisions that limit the due process protections and
expedite deportation, the U.S. will no longer consider the best interest of the
child. In fact, the revision or “cutting back” of protection procedures may put
these children in grave danger. If TVPRA is to be reformed, it should be
reformed to benefit and improve circumstances for all unaccompanied children.
In
August, President Obama requested over $3 billion to combat the flood of
unaccompanied minors. However, the requested budget primarily addressed issues
in the U.S. and not the violence and exploitation within countries of origin.
This does not provide a comprehensive solution to appropriately curtail the
issue of unaccompanied minors. Despite the President’s request, the House
passed a bill reducing the budget to $659 million with provisions that would
allow for easier deportation of immigrants from Central America. The bill did
not pass the Senate because the proposed legislation did not address the dangers
faced by child migrants sent back to their home countries. Any bill that is passed
must address and improve the current state of unaccompanied youth from both contiguous
and noncontiguous states, not compromise the safety of one migrant group to put
both at risk in their countries of origin.
-Sausha Cutler, IOFA Program Development Intern
-Sausha Cutler, IOFA Program Development Intern
“Putting the Child Refugees in Context.” Center for Progress. (August 2014) Retrieved from: http://theyoungcenter.org/news/putting-the-child-refugees-in-context/
“Unintended consequences: 2008 anti-trafficking contributes
to border crisis”, Tom Cohen (July 2014) Retrieved from:
http://www.cnn.com/2014/07/15/politics/immigration-unintended-consequences/
“Obama, Senate Dems clash on border bill”, Alexander Bolton
(July 2014), Retrieved from: http://thehill.com/homenews/senate/211933-obama-senate-dems-clash-over-border-crisis
“Use brains, not brawn, to handle migrant crisis”,
Christopher Wilson and Eric Olson (July 2014), Retrieved from:
http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/211991-use-brains-not-braun-to-handle-migrant-crisis
“Immigrant Surge Rooted in Law to Curb Child Trafficking”,
Carl Hulse (July 2014). Retrieved from: http:/nyti.ms/1n2bMSf
“The Refugee Crisis at the U.S. Border: Separating Fact from
Fiction”. National Immigrant Justice Center. (June 2014).
“Trafficking in Person Report: June 2014”, Office of the
Under Secretary for Democracy and Global Affairs and Bureau of Public Affairs
(June 2014).
Wong, Tom K. “Statistical Analysis Show that Violence, Not
Deferred Action, Is Behind the Surge of Unaccompanied Children Crossing the
Border,” Center for American Progress, July 8, 2014, http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/immigration/news/2014/07/08/93370/statistical-analysis-shows-that-violence-not-deferred-action-is-behind-the-surge-of-unaccompanied-children-crossing-the-border/.
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