Photo taken by U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas, of detained children, and some of their mothers, at a facility in Texas
Dozens of Central American children who have made the arduous and dangerous trip through Mexico to the United States have been aided by Connecticut immigrant advocates who reunite them with family members in the state.
As young as 2 years old, the children are part of a flood of young migrants — nearly 90,000 since October — who have been detained after crossing the Texas-Mexico border illegally.
John Jairo Lugo, an immigration advocate with New Haven’s Unidad Latina en Accion, said his organization has helped about 10 children – some of them accompanied by their mothers, others not — who have relocated to Connecticut to live with family members. All of the children are from Guatemala and range in age from 2 to 17-years old.
Lugo said his organization helped relocate the children in New Haven “before the situation got worse” in the last few weeks and detention facilities were filled to overflowing.
Lugo said he’s joining a rising chorus of immigrant advocates who are slamming the effort to rush deportations.
“We are going to start making noise,” he said
Most unaccompanied minors being caught by Border Patrol agents are handed over to the Department of Health and Human Services, which houses them and advises them of their legal rights. HHS detention facilities are overwhelmed by the flood of young immigrants – but a family member in the United States can make a claim to free them.
The International Institute of Connecticut, a non-profit with offices in Bridgeport, Stamford and Hartford that provides aid to refugees, is also helping relocate Central American children who have recently crossed the border.
To read full story: http://ctmirror.org/ct-advocates-help-unaccompanied-child-migrants-settle-in-the-state/
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