>>1802873 Unaccompanied Minors

"After several years of increases, the number of unaccompanied alien1children (UAC) apprehended at the Southwest border by the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS’s) Customs and Border Protection (CBP) peakedat 68,541in FY2014.Some Membersof Congressas well astheObamaAdministrationhavecharacterized the issue as a humanitarian crisis.2The reasons why they migrate to the United States are often multifaceted and difficult to measure analytically. The Congressional Research Service (CRS) has analyzed several out-migration-related factors, such as violent crime rates, economic conditions, rates of poverty, and the presence of transnational gangs.3CRS also has analyzed in-migration-related factors, such as the search for economic opportunity, the desire to reunite with family members, and U.S. immigration policies. Some have suggestedthat the sizable increase in UAC flows in recent years results from a perception of relaxed U.S. immigration policiestoward childrenunder the Obama Administration.4These criticsalso cite a 2008 law5that treats UAC from contiguous countries differently than those from noncontiguous countries (seethe section“Customs and Border Protection”).Unaccompanied alienchildren are defined in statute as children who:lack lawful immigration status in the United States;6are under the age of 18;and are without a parent or legal guardian in the United States or without aparent or legal guardian in the United Stateswhois available to provide care and physical custody.7They most often arrive at U.S. ports of entry or are apprehended along the southwestern border with Mexico. Less frequently, they are apprehended in the interior of the country and determined to be juvenilesand unaccompanied.8Although most are age 14 or older, apprehensions of UAC under age 13 have increased.91Alien, a technical term appearing throughout the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), refers to a foreign national who is not a citizen or national of the United States. 2Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Oversight of the Department of Homeland Security, June 11, 2014 (hereinafter referred to as Senate Oversight Hearing).3See CRS Report R43628, Unaccompanied Alien Children: Potential Factors Contributing to Recent Immigration.4Thesecriticsoftencite the Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act(S. 744, 113thCongress), passed by the Senate in 2013, which would allow certain unlawfully present aliens to adjustto a lawful immigration status;and the administrative policy entitled Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), which grants certain alienswho arrived in the United Statesas children prior to a certain periodsome protection from removal for at least two years. For an example of these arguments, see U.S. Congress, Senate Committeeon the Judiciary, Oversight of the Department of Homeland Security, 113thCong., 2ndsess., June 11, 2014. For a discussion ofS. 744, seearchived CRS Report R43099, Comprehensive Immigration Reform in the 113th Congress: Short Summary of Senate-Passed S. 744. For a discussion of DACA, seeCRS Report RL33863, Unauthorized Alien Students: Issues and “DREAM Act” Legislation. 5The William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008 (P.L. 110-457).6The child may have entered the country illegally or been admitted legally but overstayed his or her duration of admittance (i.e., a visa overstay.)76 U.S.C. §279(g)(2). Althoughthese children may have a parent or guardian who livesin the United States, they are classified as unaccompanied if the parent or guardian cannot provide immediatecare.8A juvenile is classified as unaccompanied if neither a parent nor a legal guardian is with the juvenile alien at the time of apprehension, or within a geographical proximity to quickly provide care for the juvenile. 8 CFR §236.3(b)(1). 9White House, DHS and HHS, “Press Call Regarding the Establishment of the Inter-Agency Unified Coordination Group on Unaccompanied Alien Children,” press release, June 3, 2014."

sauce:

https://fas.org/sgp/crs/homesec/R43599.pdf