What happens to illegal children detained at the US border

Tens of thousands of children from Central America each year are detained at the border of the United States and Mexico, handing them over to government agencies that care for underage illegal migrants who come to the United States without parents. The administration of President Donald Trump, tightening immigration procedures, significantly aggravated the situation with illegal children in the United States, writes Huffington post.

Фото: Depositphotos

Until recently, the cases of families who illegally crossed the border together were considered in a civil court. Now, if possible, charges are brought forward in the criminal court to every single person, which means that parents and children are divided, and the kids are in the same institutions as the minors, who crossed the border without parents.

ORG is in charge of juvenile illegal immigrants, as by law children cannot be deported immediately. The office must find a sponsor or adoptive parents for children with whom they can live in the United States.

Since October, border guards have arrested 26 of thousands of minors who were without parents. Recently, ORR lost sight of almost 1500 children, and in 2014, the agency accidentally turned over several minors to human traffickers.

Last month, Stephen Wagner, Acting Assistant Secretary for Children's and Family Affairs, stated that the federal authorities were unable to find 1475 children released from custody from October to December of 2017. 28 people escaped, another 52 child lived with other people, and not with their sponsors.

Once released and released to a sponsor, the child "is no longer under the control of the U.S. government, and all material support—food, housing, clothing, health care and education—falls on the shoulders of the adoptive parent, guardian or sponsor," Wagner said.

ORR employees usually contact sponsors 30 days after the child has been released from custody, but this is where the control ends. Children are not provided with assistance, for example, the state does not provide immigrants with a lawyer on the procedure for expulsion, even if they are involved in complex immigration proceedings.

Earlier, Congress had already paid attention to the ORR when they released several minors in the 2014 year, handing them over to sponsors who turned out to be human traffickers.

It was assumed that HHS and the Department of Homeland Security were to develop a joint plan for working with unaccompanied minors by February 2017, but they could not meet the deadline. Now they must submit a plan by July 30.

The Trump administration tightens control over sponsors. Previously, ORR checked the fingerprints of potential sponsors, and now the agency can share the data with the immigration and customs services. This may affect illegal immigrants who already live in the United States and were expecting children to arrive, intending to become their sponsors.

Arrested parents often do not know where their children are. After being detained for illegal entry for several days, adult illegal immigrants are handed over to ICE agents, who begin the deportation procedure. With limited access to telephones and communications, parents often cannot contact their children.

From October to December 2017, the ORR worked with the Department of Homeland Security to coordinate activities and reunite approximately 700 children with their parents.

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