Immigrant children at border ineligible for amnesty, citizenship

WASHINGTON – A surge of unaccompanied children crossing the United States border in southwest Texas are not eligible for amnesty or a path to citizenship, and are being transferred to the custody of the federal Health and Human Services Department, U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson said at a news conference Thursday.

Johnson said the goal of the federal government is to act “in the best interest of the child,” but also emphasized that the children are subject to deportation. “Those who cross our borders today illegally, including children, are not eligible for an earned path to citizenship,” Johnson said. “Those apprehended at our border are priorities for removal. They are priorities for enforcement of our immigration laws regardless of age.”

If the minors aren’t sent home, they could be transferred to long-term foster care or reunited with family members, Johnson said. When asked whether undocumented parents living in the United States could claim children who already crossed the border and not face deportation, Johnson said children are frequently reunited with their parents, but did not clarify whether families are then deported.

“HHS acts in the best interest of the child, which very often means reuniting that child with a parent,” Johnson said.

Tens of thousands of unaccompanied children, mostly from crime- and corruption-ridden countries such as Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador, have entered the United States since the start of 2013, causing what President Barack Obama has described as an “urgent humanitarian effort.”

Mark Greenberg, acting assistant secretary for the administration for children and families with the Department of Health and Human Services, estimated that 60,000 such children could cross the border this year. Over 24,000 unaccompanied children crossed the border in 2013.

The influx of unaccompanied children exceeded the capacity and resources of patrol stations in Texas, and some Central American immigrants have been flown to Phoenix for temporary lodging.

A multidepartment effort is attempting to transport the unaccompanied children from Customs and Border Protection custody to facilities that coordinate with HHS. Some facilities are state-owned, operated by nonprofit organizations, Greenberg said.