More than 100 undocumented children without families were expected to arrive in Arizona from south Texas on Sunday as part of a federal transport of underage immigrants to the state by the Department of Homeland Security, a spokesman said.
Last week, nearly 1,000 "unaccompanied alien children" had already arrived in Tucson and Phoenix from places like McAllen and El Paso, Texas, as part of a resettlement process of the minors, most of whom come from Central America, to their native countries.
Unlike a Mexican immigrant who arrives to the United States, a Central American immigrant cannot be processed as quickly because of proximity to their native country. Homeland Security is prohibited from immediately deporting the children if they are not from Canada or Mexico, causing the backlog of immigrants in U.S. detention centers.
Facilities in Texas were at or near capacity for the immigrants because of a "record increase in underage migrants," which led to the transfer of hundreds to Arizona, a spokesman said.
Although children crossing the border alone has long been an issue, the recent spike could be attributed to better weather or worsening economic conditions in their home countries, officials said. Others simply want to be reunited with their parents, who may have left them with relatives in their native countries.
Separate from unaccompanied children being sent to the state, family groups were also being sent by the federal government to Arizona, a process that has outraged Arizona lawmakers, including Gov. Jan Brewer. She released a statement Friday saying that DHS was transporting "thousands of illegal aliens and releasing them at bus stations in Tucson and Phoenix."Read the rest HERE and view a related video below:
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