WASHINGTON (AP) — Mexican children illegally crossing the border alone remain vulnerable to drug cartels, gangs and other dangers because a 2-year-old law designed to protect them is not being executed well, advocates from the U.S. and Mexico said in a report released Wednesday.
The law, the Trafficking Victims Protection and Reauthorization Act of 2008, allows Mexican children who crossed the border alone to be returned to Mexico only after officers determine the children are not human trafficking victims, can't claim asylum or if the children volunteer to go home rather than remain detained in a shelter.
The law was aimed at addressing concerns about a "revolving door" at the border for Mexican children, describing how the children were being immediately turned back without any investigation of their circumstances. Children from Central America and other countries generally go to shelters because their countries do not border the U.S.
"These children are the most vulnerable of the vulnerable. They have traveled long distances for purposes of trafficking, many of them will be trafficked en route ...," said David Nachman, an attorney with DLA Piper, a law firm that helped with the report.
"The revolving door that had so long existed at the border for these vulnerable children is still spinning today," Nachman said.
Customs and Border Protection did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Most of the youths in shelters set up in the U.S. for unaccompanied children are from Central America and elsewhere, even though most of the children crossing the border without an adult are Mexican, according to the report released by Appleseed and Mexican Appleseed, a network of 16 groups in the U.S. and Mexico.
About 15,000 to 16,000 Mexican children were apprehended crossing the border in each of the past two years, the groups said.
Part of the problem is the Homeland Security Department assigned the job of interviewing and screening unaccompanied children to Customs and Border Patrol officers, who lack child welfare expertise and are not getting needed training, the advocates said
A form used for questioning children about whether they want to go home does not make clear that the children will be detained in a shelter for children, rather than a jail or immigration detention facility, advocates said.
The report also criticizes Mexican authorities for focusing on quickly returning children to families without spending adequate time determining whether doing so puts the child in danger of abuse, neglect or other problems.
"Pause and think about what it takes for a 15-, a 16-, a 17-year-old kid to decide to leave home and travel over 1,000 miles through unknown territory and to cross a hostile border. You know that kid isn't doing it lightly and in some cases at least is running away from very difficult circumstances within the home and within the community," Nachman said.
Houston attorney Domingo Llagostera, a patent lawyer who represents unaccompanied children pro bono, said Mexican children are usually gone too quickly from border custody facilities, leaving lawyers and advocates little chance to interview them and possibly find a way for the children to remain in the U.S.
Llagostera recently helped Jose Valentin, who just turned 18, remain in the U.S., after he traveled from his home in Honduras to reunite with his mother in Florida. She had left him when he was 2 with his grandmother, who passed away a year before Valentin embarked on his journey. His trip included a 23-hour-ride in the trunk of a vehicle. It was cold and water seeped into it, Valentin said, and he found it hard to breathe inside. The driver told him it would only be a three-hour ride. Valentin later was arrested in Texas and kept more than a day in a Customs and Border Protection facility before going to the children's shelter.
"It's completely horrible. I don't have words to express how it is. It's completely horrible, because you are completely scared," Valentin said.
In Mexico, too little time is spent making sure the child won't face additional threats at home before returning him or her to the family or community, the report said.
A spokesman for the Mexican embassy had not yet read the report and could not immediately comment. A Border Patrol spokesman said he had not reviewed the full report and could not immediately comment.
Among the groups' recommendations:
— Transfer screening of the children to Citizenship and Immigration Services, the part of the Homeland Security Department that handles citizenship applications and other immigration benefits such as international adoptions. Proper training should be provided.
— Find new places to interview children and provide correct forms and tools for the interviews.
— Department of Homeland Security should create pilot projects to test improved compliance with the law.
— Mexico should adopt national standards for unaccompanied children returned to the country and better investigate whether returning them to parents is the best option.
Slabside posted at 2:15 pm on Wed, Apr 27, 2011.
Here's a novel idea... STAY IN YOUR OWN COUNTRY!!!!
Juggernaut5000 posted at 4:17 pm on Wed, Apr 27, 2011.
This is ridiculous that we spend American taxpayers' money on illegal children. How in the hell do they call the border 'hostile'? Are you f$cking kidding? Our border is a joke that needs to be secured. Who cares about illegal children, what about the Americans who are being financially raped because of this bleeding heart liberal joke of a government.
Richka posted at 4:32 pm on Wed, Apr 27, 2011.
Mexico expects the U.S. not only to embrace millions of their citizens, criticizes americans for demanding a secure border and ending entitlements for illegal aliens, yet Mexico will not patrol their side of the border to assist in stopping the border jumpers and actively go after the drug cartels. Why not? Because corruption and greed are the reason for turning a blind eye to the situation.
If life becomes difficult for some people in Mexico, it is not the responsibility of Americans to open our border and let the flood of illegal immigrants come in. It is also not our responsibility to force the Mexican government to do right by their citizens. If the millions of illegals now living n the U.S. had fought for a change in their native country, there would have been no need to leave this third world country. American tax payers would certainly be happy by not paying out billions of dollars for free education, health care and welfare for people that have absolutely no legal right to be in this country. But Mexico and Mexicans do have an AGENDA. Anyone that can't see the writing on the wall is an a fool.
Juggernaut5000 posted at 4:50 pm on Wed, Apr 27, 2011.
Someone removed my comment...I shall re-post...
Who cares about these little illegals who shouldn't be here anyways. I can't believe we actually set up a program to help freeloading illegals at the cost of American taxpayers. The little roaches should be neutered/spayed and thrown back over the non-existent fence.
On another note, I think the bleeding heart ilberal who 'reported' my mean comment is a spineless pr1ck.
Richka posted at 5:19 pm on Wed, Apr 27, 2011.
Right on Slabside....today I'm being censored. Could be that nobody wants to hear the truth today.
NothingButTheTruth posted at 6:00 pm on Wed, Apr 27, 2011.
Maybe they can all live in Obummer's Chicago mansion.
Leon Ceniceros posted at 7:09 pm on Wed, Apr 27, 2011.
PUT THEM IN CATHOLIC CHURCH ORPHANAGES.............OOOOPPPSSS........SCRATCH THAT IDEA.
Juggernaut5000 posted at 9:04 pm on Wed, Apr 27, 2011.
Why does my tax dollar pay for this nonsense?
AZMomma posted at 6:48 am on Thu, Apr 28, 2011.
The last we heard from Uncle Al Sharpton, Grijalva, Mary Rose, Ronstadt et al, they were screaming for the blood of Sheriff Joe, Russell Pearce or Gov. Brewer. Hey gang of crazies....here is an idea for you: Join hands, sing Kumbaya and come up with a way to protect and help these poor VICTIMS of the Mexican culture. Help them get back to families that want them (kidnap victims), make it your mission to get them adopted into families who are solid Mexican citizens. These poor kids deserve decent lives. Just do NOT give them American lives.
Masterrogue666 posted at 12:16 pm on Mon, May 2, 2011.
How can they be "vulnerable"? According to our Director of Homeland Security, Janet "We don't need a fence" Napolitano, it's safer now than it was years ago.
Sure Janet, I trust you, and King Obama both.
***Note, read the sentence just above knowing it was laced with heavy scarcasm.