Special Report: Immigration law loopholes and the ‘recycling of children’

A Homeland Security Advisory Board recently issued several recommendations aimed a steming the unprecendented surge of migrants, primarily from Central America.

One of those recommendations was to give Customs an Border Protection, as well as Border Patrol agents, the ability to photograph children brought to the United States by migrant famililes.

The vast majority of migrants currently coming to the U.S. are part of family units.

“The bulk of what we’re seeing are family units coming across from, primarily the main three countries of Central America, that being El Salvado Honduras, and Guatemala. However, we’re still seeing families from Brazil, Ecuador and all over the world,” said Border Patrol Spokesman Joe Romero.

Romero and other officials believe there is a reason why so many family units, with children, are overwhleming the immigration system.

“The immigration system has a loophole. And that is, it allows for children to be released within a certain timeframe. Now along with that, if there are parents with the children, the parents also get released,” said Romero.

According to immigration officials, that loophole in the system was created by the Flores Agreement – passed in 1997.
Among its many stipulations, such as housing requirements for unacompanied immigrant children, the agreement also calls for the government to release children within 20 days, sometimes to a sponsor in the community.

“So, they know that if they come across with children, there’s a very high probability that they’re gonna be released within a few days and then set free into the general public. And so this is why children are being used, including children who have no desire to be here,” said Romero.

“We do not fingerprint or take photos of anybody 14 years of age or under,” said Romero, “And so unless something changes, we don’t have the ability to do that. But that would definitely help.”

ABC-7 spoke with a child who crossed into the U.S. with an adult claiming to be his uncle.

6-year-old Bryan Alexis told ABC-7 he did not want to leave his homeland in El Salvador. The boy said his mother is already in the U.S., but did not know when she crossed.

Alexis said he missed his grandmother, who remained in El Salvador, and found the trip to the U.S. to be “scary.”

When asked what frightened him the most, Alexis broke down crying, unable to continue the interview.