The influx of Central American children to the United States is behind it

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The United States has begun deporting some Central American children who entered the country illegally. More than 60,000 Central American children have entered the United States illegally since October, four times the number from a year ago. Let's take a look at how one of the Central American teenagers came to the United States.

' b- J$ u; I3 F9 IBrandon is physically strong and loves to work out. But it was this that forced him to leave Guatemala and flee to the United States. He says a local street gang wanted him to "join" : "When I was 14, they looked out for me because of my size and tried to teach me bad things."

He decided to leave; But the 40-day trip was fraught with hardship. On a train in Mexico, he witnessed the tragic fate of one woman: "Some men tried to rape her, but she didn't jump off the train with her baby in her arms, and the train ran over them."
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More than 60,000 minors from Central America have entered the United States illegally since October. U.S. officials estimate that an estimated 90,000 children will pass through the gates by the end of September.

People who know Brandon and others like him say it's not an immigration issue, it's a refugee issue. But others don't see it that way. "It's not a refugee at all, it's a big scam," they said.

Bertwin is the head of a Maryland organization that opposes illegal immigration. "There is a problem with violence there, but it can be solved," he said. You can't just come to the United States and escape the problem."
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- O. Z+ O( B6 u) I# o1 s& N$ T1 PAs Central American countries grapple with poverty, violent gangs and other problems, children continue to pour into the United States. A 2008 U.S. law allows children from Central American countries who entered the country illegally to remain in the United States pending a court hearing, rather than being immediately deported. Michael Dane of the Federation for American Immigration Reform says the law was originally intended to protect children.
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"Unfortunately, a lot of people are using the law as if this is the perfect way to get into the country," said Dane. In fact, this law has created an influx of Central American children into the United States."

Once the children arrive in the United States, the law allows them to be briefly institutionalized and then live with relatives already in the United States until a hearing is scheduled.

" M1 g- [& n: ^7 RMr Rosenblum of the Migration Policy Institute wants to change the rules. "What this law does not do is expedite the processing and deportation of minors who do not have a valid visa," he said. So the way to change that is to speed up the hearing process dramatically, "he said.

6 b3 v% t  v' d1 D- xAs things stand, it can take up to two years to schedule hearings. Brandon now lives with his mom and dad; His parents, undocumented immigrants, have lived in the United States for eight years.