Number of unaccompanied children crossing Texas border dropped sharply in July, Obama administration
Source: Washington Post
The number of unaccompanied minors apprehended crossing the southern U.S. border dropped by nearly half in July from each of the previous two months, Obama administration officials said Thursday.
New figures from Border Patrol show that 5,508 foreign children were taken into federal custody last month, down from more than 10,000 in both May and June. The numbers of adults crossing illegally with their children also fell dramatically, from 16,330 in June to 7,410 in July, according to the data.
Federal officials expressed cautious optimism that they had made progress in stemming the influx of illegal immigrants from Central America, which has increased dramatically in the past few years and created a humanitarian crisis at the border.
“While the decrease in apprehensions in July is good news and reflects a positive trend that we hope continues, the current numbers are still higher than the number of apprehensions for children and adults with children during past years," Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson said in a statement. "We continue to have much work to do to address this issue."
Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-politics/wp/2014/08/07/number-of-unaccompanied-children-crossing-texas-border-dropped-sharply-in-july-obama-administration-says/