Texas Continues To See Rise in Cases of Unaccompanied Minors Crossing The Border

SEATTLE - Even though the total amount of illegal crossings along the U.S.-Mexico border has decreased by more than half since President Joe Biden implemented executive orders making it more difficult for migrants to seek asylum and remain in the country, the state of Texas continues to have an immigration problem.

Concretely, the Lone Star state continues to deal with the growing crisis of unaccompanied migrant children at the southern border. During Fiscal Year 2024 that ended in September, officials in Texas reported a total of 991,149 illegal crossings, but more than 60,000 of those were classified as children that were travelling alone.

Last month, 3,896 minors were reported travelling without an adult in the state of Texas after a Nov. 26 report, that number will only get bigger after Department of Public Safety troopers assisting with Gov. Greg Abbott's Operation Lone Star came across a group of more than 200 undocumented migrants trying to cross into the U.S. by Maverick County.

According to Border Report, among the 211 migrants encountered in South Texas by DPS troopers, 60 unaccompanied minors were seen traveling with the group.

An unaccompanied minor is defined as a child under the age of 18 who has no lawful immigration status in the United States and, with respect to whom, there is no parent or legal guardian in the United States able to provide care and physical custody for the child.

Although data from the Office of Refugee Resettlement suggests that 70% of unaccompanied minors are between the ages of 15 to 17, the percentage of children between the ages of 0 and 12 has grown by 4% since 2018.

Age breakdown of unaccompanied children by fiscal year

"Regardless of political views, it is unacceptable for any child to be exposed to dangerous criminal trafficking networks. With a record number of unaccompanied children and hundreds of thousands missing, there is no one ensuring the safety & security of these children except for the men & women who are on the frontlines daily," Olivarez posted on X.

"The reality is that many children are exploited & trafficked, never to be heard from again," he added.

As Olivarez mentions, children encountered by authorities at the border without parents or legal guardians present are then transferred to the Office of Refugee Resettlement, which facilitates the connection of recovered unaccompanied minors to sponsors already in the U.S.

Although both the ORR and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services try to ensure sponsors are usually family members, there is recent evidence that indicates children are often transferred to strangers.

A recent video published by Muckcracker on X shows children being transported to an airport from the headquarters of MVM Inc., which facilitates the relocation of unaccompanied children, being handed to strangers.

"We have the power to combat human trafficking, and we aren't doing enough to use it. We have to do better, children from around the globe depend on it," Selene Rodriguez, the Texas Public Policy Foundation campaign director for Secure & Sovereign Texas, told Texas Scorecard.