Mexico: Huge increase in numbers of unaccompanied migrant children

By James Blears

During the last month the US Border Patrol says that they`ve detained more than 171,000 undocumented migrants trying to cross the Border into the United States, which is the highest number in the last fifteen years.

Particularly alarming is the fact that this includes 19,000 unaccompanied children, while there are 53,000 families and almost 100,000 adults travelling alone. But this is most probably just the tip of the iceberg, as thousands more are getting through in spite of all the security precautions, due to sheer weight of numbers. 

The top priority is caring for the unaccompanied children, by finding proper housing, as many have been languishing in makeshift processing centers, sometimes for weeks.  The aim is to open and provide more appropriate emergency shelters. 

US Vice President Kamala Harris is in charge of coordinating the response. She describes it as a huge problem, which can`t be resolved overnight. 

Desperate economic conditions in Central America and Southern Mexico are creating this surge. Also, many hope the new Administration of President Joe Biden,  may be more sympathetic and accommodating, in spite of repeated urging and warnings from senior US Officials that this action will not help the cause for thousands who are seeking asylum, but fundamentally a better life in the United States, with nothing to stay for or go back to.