UNITED NATIONS — The U.N. children’s agency says thousands of children trying to escape gang violence and poverty in Central America have made their way to the United States this year — and there is no sign that the flow is letting up.
In the first six months of 2016, UNICEF said almost 26,000 unaccompanied children were apprehended at the U.S. border along with 29,700 people traveling as a family, mostly mothers and young children.
Most are from El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras, three countries with high murder and poverty rates, UNICEF said in a report released Monday night.
The agency cited data showing that unaccompanied children who do not have an attorney in U.S. immigration hearings are more likely to be deported than those who do.
