2. 1
Table of Contents
Background – 2
Immigration/Border Crisis vs. Humanitarian Crisis – 3
Laws – 4
Ways about Treating these Children – 5
How the United States should Address its Root Causes – 6
Improving the Condition and Supplemental Appropriations – 8
Congressman Adam Smith – 9
Opposing Arguments – 10
Conclusion – 11
Bibliography – 13
3. 2
Background
The issue of Unaccompanied Alien Children (UAC) is not one that has just recently been tackled
and discussed by the United States Government. UAC are defined in the statute as children who
lack lawful immigration status in the United States, who are under the age of 18, and who are
without a parent or legal guardian in the United States, or no parent or legal guardian in the United
States is available to provide care and physical custody (Seghetti, Siskin and Wasem 1). The system
that has been put in place over the past decade to handle cases such as UAC has been strained due
to the alarming numbers of UAC arriving at the United States border; this surge has also been
doubling in numbers each year.
Dating back to 2011, since then there has been numerous factors that have contributed to the
dramatic increase in the number of UAC emigrating from Central America (specifically El Salvador,
Guatemala, and Honduras) to the United States (Seelke 23). These children have been leaving their
home country in search of work and education opportunities, hoping to find a better standard of
living, hoping to be granted asylum, and/or to reunite with family members living in the United
States. Due to increase in crime and violence, along with the United States Government’s inability to
guarantee citizen security, it has made this search harder and harder for UACs (Seelke 23).
Records have shown the number of UAC apprehended by border patrol has fluctuated between
FY2009 and FY2011 but then shown to have had a dramatic increase from FY2012 until current
record obtained in June 15, 201. There were 19,440 for FY2009, 18,260 for FY2010, 15,720 for
FY2011, 24,177 for FY2012, 38,146 for FY2013, and 51,458 for FY2014. The most common
countries of citizenship are Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador, Mexico, Belize, Costa Rica,
Nicaragua, and Panama, respectively from highest to lowest (Conyers, Jr. and Lofgren 2).
4. 3
Even as the journey from Central America through Mexico to the United States border has become
increasingly costly and dangerous every day, the flows of unaccompanied minors are still increasing.
Therefore, the following sections in this paper will provide information, evaluation, and analysis to
whether or not this is an immigration problem or a humanitarian crisis, along with reasoning why
Congress should or should not provide supplemental appropriation to alleviate the problem.
Immigration/Border Crisis vs. Humanitarian Crisis
The issue of UAC arriving at the United States border has become an increasingly difficult problem
to deal with over time. The citizens of the United States perceive this issue in a variety of ways.
Some call it a border crisis while others consider it a humanitarian crisis. While the definitions of
these two terms have a certain overlap, there are also some self-explanatory differences. While
border/immigration crisis refers to situations that occur due to the lack of strong law enforcement
and strong immigration policy, humanitarian crisis refers to events and situations in which the
health, safety and well being of a large group of people are at jeopardy.
According to Rep. Adam Smith’s press release on July 24, 2014, “the arrival of unaccompanied
minors is not a failure in border enforcement” (Halle, Smith Statement on House Republican Plan
to Address Humanitarian Situation at the Border). There have been multiple misperceptions that
arrival of UAC is an immigration problem and a failure to enforce border control.
The United States already has a well-advanced border control and immigration system. This very
secured border is evidenced by thousands of children that are in government’s custody. When these
children arrive at the border, they are stopped by the Customs and Border patrol and this is the
5. 4
epitome of border security (Halle, Smith Statement on Humanitarian Crisis at the Border). There is
no border security system measure that could possibly stop people from having the desire to cross
the border in order to escape violence in their own home country. The desire is independent to the
laws and the humanitarian crisis is also not a viable explanation to point out that the United States
has a weak border security system. It is due to the surge in number of these UAC that is putting a
speed bump on the laws and systems. Therefore, this situation is seen to be a humanitarian crisis
rather than an immigration/border crisis.
Laws
Some might ask why are the UACs encountered at ports of entry not turned away as inadmissible?
The reasoning for this is due to Section 212(a)(7) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA).
Under this section, any immigrant who does not possess valid unexpired immigrant visa, reentry
permit, border crossing identification card, or other valid entry document required by this act is
required to provide one otherwise they will be refused entry permission. However, admission is not
the same as entry. Admission is defined as “lawful entry into the United States after inspection and
authorization by an immigration officer” while entry is generally seen to encompass any “coming of
an alien into the United States” and may be permitted, pursuant to other provisions of federal law in
circumstances where admission is not legally permissible (Manuel and Garcia 5). These UAC are
listed under entry in which they cannot be turned away as inadmissible. The challenge that is
encountered with this law is that these UAC are granted entry under the condition that they will
have to be interviewed and be further processed. On the contrary, they end up disappearing in the
United States and because of the high number of UAC entering the United States, a lot of them are
being turned away without getting a fair trial in court. With that in mind, not all children will get the
6. 5
chance to be interviewed and given a fair trial and thus, prefer running away into the country
illegally.
In addition to the INA, another popular law used in this humanitarian crisis is the 2008 law that was
passed with bipartisan support and signed into place by President George W. Bush. This law
protects minors who arrived in the United States after fleeing human trafficking or other kinds of
abuse or violence (Halle, Smith Statement on Unaccompanied Minors). Many members of Congress
has taken the wrong approach in which they believe in order to alleviate this humanitarian crisis is to
first weaken the 2008 law. Not all children will qualify for asylum or refugee status under this law or
other laws in the book but they should definitely all have fair representation to make their cases in
court (Halle, Smith Statement on Unaccompanied Minors). The issue that arises here is that when
the law was passed in 2008, there was not a prediction that parents in the northern triangle would
want to send their children into the United States. This is seen as an unintended consequence of the
policy, which leads to the belief in decrease of credibility of the 2008 law.
Along with the two laws mentioned, there are many more that comes into play in the process of
alleviating the UAC issue such as the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and their
supplemental appropriations bill (Halle, Smith Statement Opposing Republican Appropriation Bill
for Border Situation). Even though the number is large, the loopholes and misconducts of these
laws are inevitable. With the ongoing improvement and amendments of current laws, there is a
possibility that the United States can take the next big step in alleviating this problem and hope to
allow justice towards incoming UAC.
7. 6
Ways about Treating these Children
Throughout the years where this issue has been a pertinent one to the United States, there has still
been a lack of initiative taken to alleviate it. Neither the State Department nor the United States
Agency for International Development (USAID) has funded any large-scale assistance programs for
exiled El Salvadorans. On the other hand, the International Organization for Migration (IOM)
implemented a two-phased small-scale program to assist in this situation of unaccompanied minors
who were removed from the United States (Seelke 23).
• Phase 1 (implemented in 2010): assisted in reintegration of 52 children
• Phase 2 (implemented in 2011): focused on building El Salvadoran government
capacity to work with local communities and NGOs to support reintegration of
UAC rather than assisting large numbers of individuals
With these phases having been implemented in the past, the Obama Administration announced its
intention to provide $9.6 million (although source of funding was not specified) to help El Salvador,
Guatemala, and Honduran reintegrate repatriated migrants (Seelke 23).
Another issue that is encountered is the question of which federal agencies have primary
responsibility for maintaining custody of alien children without immigration status (Manuel and
Garcia 6). When this situation arises, a lot of departments toss the responsibilities around and pass it
on to other departments so they would not have to deal with it. With lack of supplemental funding
for these departments, they would prefer to handle as fewer cases as possible. According to the law,
the primary federal agencies responsible for maintaining custody are the Department of Homeland
Security (DHS) and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). In order to avoid this
8. 7
situation from happening, the root causes of this humanitarian crisis and an increase in funding
should be implemented.
How the United States should Address its Root Causes
The United States and the Obama Administration has been trying to address the root causes of this
humanitarian crisis and why children are fleeing their country and how those children are treated
once they arrive (Seelke 23). The initial action taken on this situation is that the Obama
Administration announced the start of a five-year, $25 million crime and violence prevention
program in El Salvador (Seelke 23). Along with that is the continuation of Central America Regional
Security Initiative (CARSI) funding to address the root causes of migration (Seelke 23).
From many arguments and reasoning behind why there is a surge of UAC coming through the
United States border relates back to the situation in the UAC’s home country. A lot of these
children are emigrating from Central American countries such as El Salvador, Guatemala, and
Honduras in which these countries have a high rate of crime and violence. With this argument,
Senator John McCain (R-AZ) reported to Reuters that establishing refugee application programs in
citizenship countries of the UACs is the key to defusing the situation (Conyers, Jr. and Lofgren).
The number of apprehensions increased from about 8,000 in fiscal year 2008 to approximately
52,000 in the first eight and half months of fiscal year 2014 (Kandel, Bruno and Meyer 1). The
current spike is driven entirely by children from the northern triangle and not by children from
Mexico or other Central American Countries (Conyers, Jr. and Lofgren 2). There are four factors
that are contributing to the explanation of the main root causes of this humanitarian crisis. The four
9. 8
are high violent crime rates, poor economic conditions fueled by relatively low economic growth
rates, high rates of poverty, and the presence of transnational gangs.
High rates of violent crime are a bad environment for any children to grow up in. In 2012, the
homicide rate per 100,000 inhabitants stood at 90.4 in Honduras, which makes it the highest in the
world, 41.2 in El Salvador, and 39.9 in Guatemala (Kandel, Bruno and Meyer 1). Poor economic
conditions are a factor that discourages for children to grow up expecting to gain any jobs. With the
hopes of coming to the land of opportunity, the United States that is, they are hoping to encounter
new possibilities in entry level positions in the low-skilled workforce of the industrial sectors.
According to the International Monetary Fund report, the economic growth rates in the northern
triangle countries, which are the three countries mentioned, in 2013 ranges from 1.6% to 3.5%
(Kandel, Bruno and Meyer 1). Low growth rates and extremely low employment opportunities lead
to high poverty rate. Statistic shows that 45% of El Salvadorans, 55% of Guatemalans, and 67% of
Hondurans live in poverty (Kandel, Bruno and Meyer 1). Lastly is the presence of transnational
gangs. Surveys in 2013 indicated that almost 50% of UAC experienced serious harm or threats by
organized criminal groups or state actors and one-fifth experienced domestic abuse (Kandel, Bruno
and Meyer 1). Additionally, back in 2013 the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
(UNHCR) interviewed UAC from El Salvador and 66% of them had been abused or threatened by
criminal actors (Seelke 23). With this kind of living condition, how can one blame such a person for
having the desire to flea their home country to find better opportunities and outlook on life? These
are only the few factors that are the root causes of this issue.
10. 9
Improving the Condition and Supplemental Appropriations
While these children are crossing the border to seek out a better standard of living, the United States
is also experiencing a humanitarian crisis of their own. According to the laws and the theme of the
land of fair and equal opportunity, the United States must seek for improvement in condition when
treating these UAC. It is the wrong approach to address this humanitarian situation by weakening
the 2008 law. This legislation was passed with bipartisan support and was signed by president Bush
is in place to protect minors who are fleeing human trafficking, violence and abuse (Office of Rep.
Adam Smith). The other way around alleviating this situation is implementing supplemental
appropriations.
Supplemental appropriations have been a major discussion in Congress and debates have been made
between the Republicans and the Democrats on whether or not appropriations are worthwhile. As
mentioned before, pre-existing laws are not to blame. They have been able to exist until today
because it serves the purpose and the only few possible solutions to alleviate the problem of
overflowing UAC at the southwest border is to increase funding and provide supplemental
appropriations.
When this crisis escalated in July 2014, there has been a request for an emergency of $3.7 billion
supplemental appropriation. The focus of the appropriated funds would be for deterrence –
increased immigration court capacity to speed cases, enforcement – increased surveillance and
expand collaborative law enforcement task forces, foreign cooperation – addressing root causes, and
capacity – increased detainment, care, and transportation. The following are the breakdowns:
• $1.1 billion: providing DHS for Immigration and Custom Enforcements (ICE)
• $433 million: providing DHS for CBP
11. 10
• $64 million: providing the Department of Justice (DOJ)
• $300 million: providing Department of State
• $1.8 billion: providing HHS for appropriate care for UAC
(White House Office of Legislative Affairs 3-4)
With efforts to provide funding, the apprehension number of UAC at the southwest border,
specifically at the Rio Grande Valley Sector, has seen a decrease from 2,652 in fiscal year 2014 to
1,551 in fiscal year 2015 to date (U.S. Customs and Border Protection). As this number shows a very
drastic decrease, it is a very good indicator that the White House, along with members of Congress,
should advocate for further appropriations. Without sufficient funding, this situation is quite hard to
handle.
Congressman Adam Smith
During the week of June 23, 2014, Representative Adam Smith (WA-09) took the initiative along
with Representative Jared Polis (CO-02) to lead a letter co-signed by 43 members of Congress. In
this letter, the content asks Secretary Johnson, the current Secretary of Home Security, to undertake
full review of the extent detainers have contributed to violations of human rights of community
members, implement changes that reduce and reform the way ICE detainers are used, and halt the
use of detainers in their current form (Office of Rep. Adam Smith 1). He mentions that, “[he]
oppose[s] simply deporting [UAC] without considering the protections our laws provide. These
children deserve due process, and [he] support[s] increased funding for immigration judges and legal
representation to help the unaccompanied children make their case in court” (Office of Rep. Adam
12. 11
Smith). Rep. Adam Smith along with numerous other members of Congress sees the need of an
increase in initiative to allow fairness in legal representation and protection of UAC. These children
are crossing the border with an effort to reunite with families in the United States or find better
opportunities to obtain a better standard of living. These UAC deserves justice and even though it is
not possible to accommodate all them, they all deserve a fair trial.
Opposing Arguments
Although there are many requests for supplemental appropriations and an improvement in the
number UAC crossing the border, it can also be seen as a very big investment for the United States
Government. By providing more funds for organizations and immigration patrol in order to solve
this problem, there are other aspects that the funds could be injected into for more investments.
Each year, the budget has only so much new revenue that could be used to wiggle the budget for
each department and aspects. The United States Government aims to balance the budget during the
budget season and with only a few places funding could be taken out of, the extra money that has
the potential to be allocated and dispersed needs to be evaluated critically. The other perspective on
this humanitarian crisis is that the United States could use the funds, that would be a supplemental
appropriation, to provide increase funding in other aspects of the budget such as higher education,
defense, health care, etc.
There are many ways to approach this issue and coming down with one solid answer will be
extremely difficult. The United States Congress, along with several organizations are looking into
alleviating the problem via multiple outlets, channels, and resources. There is no one solid way to
solve this issue and this will be an ongoing crisis for the United States. The number of UAC has
13. 12
decreased since initiatives have been taking by the United States Government. Whether or not this
number will continue to decline depends on the ongoing efforts of the citizens and government.
Conclusion
After all, these UAC are not looking to go to Disneyland, or trying to get a job; they are running
away from catastrophe, violence, and crime to be with family members in the United States. They
are also finding refuge here in order to stay alive (Sharpton). In my opinion, this humanitarian crisis
has come a long way and the United States has put in a good deal of initiative and effort to alleviate
the problem although, there is definitely room for more improvements. With the many support in
Congress for President’s Obama supplemental funding and the outlook on fairness and equality,
there is many channels to find ways to accommodate these incoming UAC.
In my opinion, the President should definitely provide supplemental appropriation to protect the
United States but also, help the incoming UAC who are fleeing their home country from violence
and crime. The United States has a huge landmass with potential to expand hospitality and increase
funding on humanitarian crisis aspect. After experiencing first hand from interning at the Office of
Representative Adam Smith in Washington, D.C., Congress has the potential to drive this nation
towards a protected and fair immigration and border laws. With the help of the President’s
supplemental appropriations and the joined forces of organizations and departments, the United
States has a very good chance in moving forward with this situation without having to hurt a large
quantity of UAC and its own citizens.
14. 13
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