Unaccompanied Alien Children (UACs) arriving at the United States-Mexico border from Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador have a more than 95 percent chance of remaining in the U.S. after their arrival, newly released data from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) reveals.
The DHS data, released this week, shows the extent to which UACs from the three Central American countries are much more likely than not to remain in the U.S., often getting placed with an illegal alien relative already living in the country.
From 2013 to early 2020, 315,582 UACs from Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador were encountered at the U.S.-Mexico border.
About 300,900, or more than 95 percent, have “no confirmed departure” from the U.S., indicating that they remain living in the U.S. while continuing to be processed, failing to voluntarily deport, or having been granted immigration relief.
Just 4.65 percent, or 14,682, of these 315,582 UACs have been removed to Guatemala, Honduras, or El Salvador. About 3-in-10 of these UACs end up receiving immigration relief to permanently stay in the U.S., the DHS data shows.
In 2019, alone, federal immigration officials encountered more than 64,000 UACs from Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador at the southern border. Of those, just 2.15 percent were removed to their native country ,while nearly 98 percent have “no confirmed departure” from the U.S.
The UAC program, as Breitbart News has chronicled, has delivered large populations mostly from Central America to states like New York, New Jersey, Texas, California, Florida, Virginia, and Maryland. Since President Trump took office, more than 165,000 UACs have been released into the interior of the U.S.
John Binder is a reporter for Breitbart News. Follow him on Twitter at @JxhnBinder.