Each day some 128 unaccompanied alien children (UACs) were detained illegally entering the U.S. during the month of May, according to CNS News.
Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) data obtained by CNS for the month of July show that 3,965 children were detained in May— representing the single month with the highest level of UAC apprehensions this fiscal year.
The level of UAC illegal immigration to the U.S. is lower than the record highs of last year, but still much higher than years prior. As of June 1, Border Patrol had apprehended nearly 23,000 UACs at the Southwest border.
In response to last year’s massive influx of UACs the Obama administration moved forward with a campaign to dissuade — largely Central Americans — from attempting the dangerous journey north.
Included in the campaign was a program to fly qualifying children from Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador to the U.S. as as refugees or parolees, in a program that has raised many serious questions.
“In effect, the President’s answer to the ongoing run on the border is to order government officials to transport many of those same individuals from Central America into the U.S. with lawful paperwork and guaranteed access to federal benefits,” Sen. Jeff Sessions said of the program earlier this year.
According to a recent report from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Ombudsman, as of April 23, 2015, the Refugee/Parole Program for Central American Minors (CAM) had received 565 applications with 439 applications for El Salvador, 114 for Honduras, and 12 for Guatemala.