President Obama recently reported that the number of unaccompanied alien children (UACs) illegally crossing the border was down in August but failed to discuss illegal family crossings, which remained steady according to the Daily Caller. The inflow of UACs is expected to rise again when the weather cools.
At an August 28 press conference Obama said, “Apprehensions [of Central American UAC] in July were half of what they were in June [and] so we’re seeing a significant downward trend in terms of these unaccompanied children.” The number did drop a significant amount -- from 4,332 in July to 2,037 in August -- but the number of Central American “family units” crossing illegally only dropped marginally (from 5,517 to 5,205) during the same period, the Daily Caller reports.
The Daily Caller said Obama is focusing on a sympathetic group -- minors -- to minimize the political damage from the surge and has ignored the reality that the vast majority of UACs are teenagers who could be working at home, not in school. Moreover, as the Mayor of Lynn, Massachusetts recently noted, some are adults posing as minors.
The Border Patrols says that 66,127 minors have been apprehended so far the fiscal year. That represents an 88 percent increase over the 35,209 minors apprehended during the same period last year. Over 50,000 of the minors are from El Salvador, Guatemala or Honduras, and most of the rest are Mexican nationals.
The Border Patrol also apprehended an additional 66,142 adults and minors traveling as a family this fiscal year, a 412 percent increase over FY 2013. About 60,000 of these came from Central American countries.
The Daily Caller interviewed Temple University law professor Jan Ting, who said Obama has the legal authority to immediately stop the flow but he chooses to classify UACs as trafficking victims, and allow “family units” to apply for asylum. Ting said Obama “could use ‘Expedited Removal’ [rules] at the border if he chose, but he chose not to do so.”
Read more in the Daily Caller.
