Thousands of Unaccompanied Minors Stopped in Mexico, Immigration Official Says La Prensa
go to original June 27, 2014

'Cheat sheet' found near Mexico border shows illegal immigrants how to stay in the United States if detained by authorities. (TheBlaze)

MEXICO CITY - Mexican immigration agents have stopped 9,622 unaccompanied minors this year, a figure equal to the 2013 total, with the total for the full year projected at 16,000, Deputy Government Secretary for Population, Migration and Religious Affairs Mercedes del Carmen Guillen Vicente said.

"As of this time, 44,409 foreigners have been returned, and 9,622 unaccompanied children in this period, while the total in 2013 was 9,724," Guillen Vicente said.

The federal official said during a conference hosted by the Mexican Senate that examined immigration reform efforts in the United States that the rise in the number of unaccompanied minors heading north was caused by a misinterpretation of the U.S. government's statements about a "temporary normalization" of immigration status.

People traffickers took advantage of the situation, telling parents that by paying thousands of dollars they could ensure that their children had a better life in the United States, Guillen Vicente told lawmakers, activists and academics attending the conference.

Immigration reform is "unquestionably necessary" in the United States and action is needed to find a solution to the problem of child migration, the federal official said.

Read the rest at La Prensa

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