US Government Addresses Increase of Young Migrants from Central America

Minors from Central America are crossing the US-Mexico border in higher numbers as policy changes are discussed.

As of 18 March, United States Customs and Border Protection has seen a 30% increase in the number of minors held at their facilities, leaving the total number of unaccompanied minors in government custody at 15,500. Many of these children are being kept in facilities which are likened to jails or warehouses and described by Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas as "no place for a child." Recently, the average amount of time each child spends at border patrol facilities has been 107 hours, well above the legal limit of 77 hours. 

At a press conference on 10 March, US Ambassador Roberta Jacobson, Coordinator for the Southern Border, outlined a plan to “address the root causes of migration, including corruption, violence, and economic devastation exacerbated by climate change,” all part of a $4 billion commitment over the next four years of the Biden Administration. The plan includes both policy and humanitarian aid acting together to sustainably disrupt the cycle of irregular migration.

Funds will go to communities, including training, climate mitigation, violence prevention, and anti-gang programs; Jacobson emphasized that they will not be directed towards Central American or Mexican government leaders. It aims to reiterate the message that the US-Mexico border is not open and to address the causes that compel people to migrate while creating “safe, prosperous, and democratic countries.” 

Creating a communication network between the US and people residing in countries such as El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico was noted at the press briefing as a major difficulty in implementing the initiative. In poverty-stricken and violent communities where migrants are leaving, false rumors of an open border have been spreading; communication through credible international organizations was listed as a potential solution for dispelling myths and misinformation provided by smugglers to migrant-sending communities. 

Jacobson announced the reinstatement of the Central American Minors (CAM) program for children to be reunited with a parent who is legally residing in the US. CAM was paused by the Trump Administration in 2017, leaving some 3,000 travel-approved children stranded. Additionally, Trump era Title 42, a health order related to the pandemic, automatically deported any person crossing the border illegally; the Biden Administration only applies the order to families and adults, not to unaccompanied children. Policy change, mixed messages, and living conditions in migrant-sending communities all contribute to the scale of the influx of minors at the US-Mexico border. 

Administration officials claim they are working to open new living facilities for migrant children as well as increasing emergency intake sites to pre-pandemic levels. Jacobsen noted the difficulty in conveying “both hope in the future and the danger that is now” so that the economies of migrant-sending communities improve and reduce the number of people leaving for the US.