Smugglers arrested two migrant children at the southern Texas border this week as Texas authorities scrambled to rescue the girls amid concerns about the large number of unaccompanied minors coming across the border. He fled back to Mexico, leaving everyone behind.
of Texas Department of Public Safety Police have recovered two girls, ages 5 and 9, who were abandoned by smugglers and fled back to Mexico, authorities said.
The girls, who are from El Salvador, had only a note with their address and phone number and were then referred to U.S. Border Patrol.
As the end of the Biden administration approaches, the number of ice country deportations will catch up with Trump-era numbers in 2024.
Police in Texas rescued two girls abandoned at the southern border. (Texas Department of Public Safety)
The incident taps into ongoing concerns about unaccompanied migrant children crossing the border, whose numbers have increased significantly in the recent immigration crisis.
There have been numerous incidents in which abandoned children have been rescued, often with phone numbers and addresses of relatives or others written on paper or sewn onto their clothing. When children arrive unaccompanied, they are ultimately transferred to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and released to a sponsor in the United States.
National Guard soldiers stand guard on the banks of the Rio Grande at Shelby Park in Eagle Pass, Texas, on January 12, 2024. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)
The issue made headlines earlier this year when the DHS Office of Inspector General sent a report to Congress that found more than 32,000 unaccompanied migrant children had died in the past five years. [UCs] failed to appear at an immigration court hearing, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement It was not possible to account for the whereabouts of all those who did not show up.
“During ongoing audits to assess ICE’s ability to monitor the location and condition of UC released or transferred from Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Health and Human Services (HHS) custody, from UC to HHS from fiscal year 2019 to fiscal year 2023,” the internal oversight agency reported.
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“However, ICE was unable to account for the location of all UCs released by HHS who did not appear in immigration court as scheduled. “I reported that I did not appear for my immigration court hearing.”
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The watchdog also said that approx. 291,000 unaccompanied migrant children They have not yet been subject to deportation proceedings because ICE consistently fails to schedule immigration court dates or serve notices.
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According to ICE’s 2024 report, despite a surge of more than 500,000 unaccompanied immigrant children under the Biden administration, only 411 were removed in fiscal year 2024, compared to 212 in fiscal year 2023. Increased from people. For comparison, more than 4,000 people were taken away. In 2022.
