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Senators John McCain and Jeff Flake offer Amendment to Deter Future Wave of Unaccompanied Minors Over US-Mexico Border

Press Release

Date: March 26, 2015
Location: Washington, DC
Issues: Minors and Children Government Budget and Spending Immigration

U.S. Senators John McCain (R-AZ) and Jeff Flake (R-AZ) have offered an amendment to the Fiscal Year 2016 Budget Resolution to prevent another wave of unaccompanied minors from crossing over the U.S. Mexico border, which caused a serious humanitarian crisis in border states such as Arizona and Texas last summer. Specifically, the amendment would establish a deficit-neutral reserve fund to enable U.S. officials to expeditiously remove unlawful entrants from non-border countries and establish in-country consulates in Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador to process refugee applications. The Senators expect a vote on their amendment as the Senate considers the FY16 Budget Resolution today.

"Over the next few months, the seasonal spike in illegal migration from Central America and Mexico will begin, and children from Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador will put themselves at the mercy of human smugglers working for transnational criminal organizations operating across our border," said Senators McCain and Flake. "Many of these children never make it to the United States, falling victim to violence and exploitation. Despite this impending situation, the President has requested $24 million for the apprehension and care of unaccompanied minors with a contingency of up to $134 million -- a stop-gap solution that will not deter these children from attempting this dangerous journey in the first place. Our amendment offers critical solutions to discourage the illegal migration of children and provide in-country humanitarian relief for these individuals. There is no greater deterrent to this activity than demonstrating that illegal migrants are not able to remain in the United States."

Last year, 73,470 unaccompanied children entered the U.S. illegally and were apprehended by Customs and Border Protection, and thousands of migrants were transported to an emergency processing center in Nogales, Arizona.


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