Why Children Are Pouring Across The Border

The Department of Health and Human Services processed 122,000 “unaccompanied alien children” (UAC) in its shelters last fiscal year, an all-time record. The staggering number of young children trekking to our country is a humanitarian catastrophe. The blame rests squarely with the Biden administration.

By loosening border security and all but inviting migrants to come illegally, administration officials have ironically put the youngest, most vulnerable migrants in harm’s way. While the administration cloaks its actions in the language of compassion, there is nothing compassionate about policies that allow children to fall into the clutches of human traffickers and sexual predators.

Unaccompanied children, many as young as eight or nine years old, face horrific conditions on their journeys north. They are often thirsty and tired, hot during the day and cold at night. Above all, they are afraid. Over 550 people, including many children, died trying to cross the border in F.Y. 2021 alone. Often, their only guidance comes from “coyotes,” unscrupulous human smugglers motivated by cash, who have been known to abandon children at the first sign of trouble.
Children making this passage frequently face violence at the hands of gangs and drug cartels. Sexual abuse against teenage women is so pervasive that many girls start taking birth control before starting their journeys, knowing they are likely to be assaulted.