Children crossing US border by themselves

Parents from Mexico, who are already in America, are afraid to go back for their children left behind because of the higher security in place. So, they hire coyotes to bring their children up to the border and try to get them across without detection. These families pay any where from $3,000 to $5,000 for each child.

These children face 2,000 miles of rough ground, scorpions, and sexual abuse, at times, when they are taken to the border by these coyotes. They are given fake or sometimes stolen documents. And, when they are caught by the Border patrol, they are returned to where they came from. Often, these children have no idea of how long the trip will be, or even where there families are in the United States.

"They gave me the crossing card of a girl who looked like me, but I got very nervous," said Lupita Valencia, 14, from central Colima state, who had been sent for by her parents who live in Seattle.

"The inspectors realized I wasn't the card holder and sent me back" she added.

This seems to be a desperate means for the families to reunite. And, it should never have happened. If we had a more secure border, then perhaps most of the deaths that happen every year would never have to happen. President Bush has ordered 6,000 National Guard to the borders, and this has really tightened up security.

The coyotes have been known to just leave the children to fend for themselves when they sense they will be caught. More than 400 children have died over the past year. Most of those were from heat exhaustion or drowning. Desert temperatures in Arizona will rise to 120 degrees in the summer and freezing in the winter. It is believed that this situation is here to stay with all the build up of security at the border crossings.

Linked at Conservative Cat
Don Surber
Is It Just Me?

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