One of the biggest factors
driving the surge of unaccompanied children making the dangerous journey
from Central America to the United States’ Southern border has been the
incorrect impression that, once they arrive, they will be allowed to
stay. Unfortunately, by vastly understaffing the country’s immigration
courts, the U.S. government has made that myth appear to be reality.
Imagine this.
What if the first wave of children in this migration of tens of
thousands had been deported back to Honduras, El Salvador, or Guatemala a
few months after they left home in the first place? It seems likely
that word would have got around that, contrary to rumor, the United
States was not providing blanket amnesty to children.
In
fact, according to the Economic Policy Institute in Washington, the
vast majority of unaccompanied children crossing the border are
designated for deportation once they come before a judge. The problem is
that wait time for a hearing in immigration court is measured not in
weeks or months, but in years.
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