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Frequently Asked Questions:
The Exodus of Children and Families from Central America
Updated 4/28/2015
Who are these “unaccompanied immigrant children”? How do they end up in the United
States alone?
Unaccompanied immigrant children are minors under the age of 18 who cross the U.S. borders alone,
without their parents or caregivers. They come to the United States from all corners of the world, but
the most recent children have primarily been from Central America—Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, and
El Salvador. They travel by foot over the border, or as stowaways on freight trains. Sometimes they are
victims of human trafficking, sometimes they must pay to get to safety, and sometimes they just travel
alone.
The number of children making this perilous journey has grown significantly in recent years. Statistics
from the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol state that since 2009 over 181,000 unaccompanied children
have crossed into the United States. In the fiscal year 2014, over 68,500 children came into the United
States, a 77% increase compared to over 38,000 children who arrived alone in 2013.
Are entire families also crossing the border?
Yes, in addition to the recent increase in unaccompanied immigrant child arrivals, families are also
crossing the southernmost border at unprecedented rates. They come to the United States from all
corners of the world, however the most recent arrivals are Central American, predominately migrating
from Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador. Statistics from the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol
state that In the fiscal year 2014 over 68,400 family units came into the United States which was a 361%
increase compared to a little over 14,000 family units who arrived in 2013.
Why are they fleeing their home countries?
Often, the children are leaving their home countries due to extreme poverty, human trafficking, drug
cartels, political upheaval, child labor, or abusive homes. In other cases, the children come to the United
States to reunite with family members who have preceded them here. Some children are trafficked into
the United States, transported by hired smugglers; others make the journey on their own. It is believed
that gang-related violence and organized crime in Central America is largely fueling mass exodus to the
United States. Due to a powerful drug cartel presence, the homicide rate in Honduras is the highest in
the world, at 90.4 per 100,000 according to the Global Study on Homicide 2013. El Salvador and
Guatemala were also cited as having some of the highest homicide rates. Central American families fear
for their lives and the safety of their children, as many are targets of gang recruitment and/or violence.
The families flee to the United States seeking safety and freedom from fear. These safety fears were
confirmed in findings from a United Nations High Committee for Refugees (UNHCR) report Children on
the Run.
How old are the children?
They are usually in their early teens, but can be as young as three. They are both boys and girls.
What happens to children once they get here?
When these children come to the attention of the U.S. government at the border, they are first held at
U.S. Customs and Border Protection stations. After the initial steps of checking the children’s health,
making sure they are safe, and understanding who they are and the situation they have fled, a
determination is made regarding the child’s plan for immediate care. Some of these kids are reunited
with family members or other adults who live here in the United States while they wait for an
immigration court hearing, some may be returned to the country they came from, and some may be
placed into specialized United States foster care programs while their needs for protection are
determined by an immigration court.
What happens to families when they arrive into the United States?
Families are apprehended by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and transferred to a family
detention center. Thousands of migrants anxiously wait at CBP stations, exhausted, afraid and in need of
immediate medical attention. In response, the U.S. government opened facilities to house families in
Dilley Texas and Karnes City Texas, which combined, can house over 2,900 women and children.
Pregnant mothers, infants and children of all ages through teenagers are being held in these detention
centers for months while they await their immigration court hearing. After the hearing, some families
will be able to stay in the U.S. while others will be returned to their country of origin.
Are these kids and their family members being given permission to the stay in the United
States permanently?
There is no immediate legal status being offered to these children or their family members. All the
children who cross into the United States are still required to abide by U.S. law and must present
themselves for immigration court proceedings to determine if they are eligible to remain in the United
States. Unfortunately, many families and unaccompanied children have to appear in court without a
lawyer due to a shortage of pro-bono lawyers.
Some children and mothers may be eligible for asylum or refugee status in the U.S. if they can prove
they were a victim of crime in the United States or if they can prove they have been persecuted or
abused in their home country.
What can I do to help?
Everyone can contribute to serving the migrant and refugee community; specifically, we encourage you
to join LIRS in these initiatives:

Advocate for the end of family detention and lobby for alternatives to family detention. Sign up to
receive advocacy updates. Learn more at: LIRS.org/sfw

Visit a detention center to provide hope and encouragement to those awaiting their immigration
trial. Learn more about this program at: LIRS.org/visitation

Become a foster parent: Give the Gift of Family by fostering a refugee or unaccompanied minor
child and help promote the program in your community and at your church or in your community.
Learn more at: LIRS.org/fostercare

Support the work of Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service. Learn more at: LIRS.org/donate

Join Refugee Sunday: Learn about other ways to get involved such as promoting Refugee Sunday
and starting other advocacy bible studies at your church. Learn more at: LIRS.org/refugeesunday
What is LIRS doing to help?
LIRS continues to play a national advocacy role as well as a service role for these women and children
throughout this humanitarian crisis. Through support from our donors and funding partners, LIRS
provides a variety of initiatives to serve the partner network and to the migrant community.
In collaboration with a network of partners, LIRS helps to provide services to unaccompanied migrant
children including providing short-term transitional and long-term foster care. The Give the Gift of
Family campaign was established in response to a direct need for more foster families to come forward
to serve these children. Currently, LIRS is working to implement and provide new programs and
resources to support the families and the community serving them.
The advocacy team located in the Washington D.C. office remains in front of Congress and the President
for the humane treatment and basic human rights for the migrant community. Multiple LIRS staff have
visited detention centers around the United States to continue to advocate for an end to detainment of
families and children.
As one of the many resources LIRS has produced, First Steps is a manual to help refugees, asylum
seekers, and migrants navigate the complex system of laws, agencies, and public and private systems
they must master by providing important information on legal rights, responsibilities, and eligibility for
services and benefits such as healthcare and education, according to immigration status.
LIRS programs staff and partners are working with the recently initiated Federal government program
for the Central American Minors (CAM) Affidavit of Relationship (AOR) program. Programs supporting
sponsors of unaccompanied children and providing mental health services to unaccompanied children at
risk from gangs in the U.S. were supported through LIRS crisis response work.
To gather together community leaders, LIRS hosted a convening with nonprofit and church leaders of
the Lutheran community to talk about push and pull factors in the border crisis and ways to collaborate
and share information and resources to better serve the families and children affected.
LIRS is also collaborating with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and a strong network of
church, social, and legal service partners as well as advocacy allies to push for the release of families into
community-based alternatives to detention programs. LIRS is piloting an example of these communitybased alternatives to detention programs to welcome individuals as they enter the United States and/or
are released from the custody of ICE and await a final decision on their immigration status. The
programs provide culturally appropriate case management, ongoing legal assistance, and housing to
individuals who demonstrate a need for such services and are eligible to be released from detention.
For more information, contact: LIRS at 1-877-291-1061 or [email protected]
References
United States Customs and Border Control statistics: http://www.cbp.gov/newsroom/stats/southwestborder-unaccompanied-children
UNHCR Children on the Run report:
http://www.unhcrwashington.org/sites/default/files/UAC_UNHCR_Children%20on%20the%20Run_Full%20Report
.pdf