The Immigration Crisis of Unaccompanied Minors Never Really Ended

The crisis of unaccompanied Central American children illegally crossing the United States’ southern border does not end when they enter this country.

Families of Central American immigrants turn themselves in to U.S. Border Patrol agents after crossing the Rio Grande River from Mexico to McAllen, Texas, on Sept. 8, 2014. Although the numbers of such immigrant families and unaccompanied minors have decreased from a springtime high, many continue to cross in the border illegally into the United States. John Moore/Getty Images

The crisis of unaccompanied Central American children illegally crossing the United States’ southern border does not end when they enter this country.

As the children arrive and settle in the United States and wait to hear their fate in immigration court, some are placed into homes where they are sexually assaulted or forced to work.

Meanwhile, the agency tasked with placing the children into U.S. communities has no system for tracking them once they are united with sponsors—people who are supposed to keep them safe and ensure that they show up for immigration court.

The agency tasked with placing the children into U.S. communities has no system for tracking them once they are united with sponsors.