Although numbers eased somewhat in July and August, the children’s immigration crisis remains the most pressing immigration issue of the day.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Since October 2013, more than 52,000 children have been taken into custody. Most are from Central America, and a large proportion are not accompanied by parents or guardians. Their numbers represents a ten-fold increase from 2009. Twice as many unaccompanied children arrived this year than did in the last.<\/p>\n
In large part, the current crisis is fueled by violence in Central America. El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala are all facing high levels of gang violence, which is closely related to the illegal drug trade. According to the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, 58 percent of the unaccompanied immigrant children are migrating for safety reasons. <\/p>\n
This fact has led many organizations and officials, including the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, to urge that the children be treated as refugees, even as immigration (more…)<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Although numbers eased somewhat in July and August, the children’s immigration crisis remains the most pressing immigration issue of the day.\u00a0 Since October 2013, more than 52,000 children have been taken into custody. Most are from Central America, and a…<\/span><\/p>\n