Illegal immigrants posing as children at border is increasing

The number of adults posing as unaccompanied minors to illegally cross the border has been increasing in recent weeks, according to US Border Patrol in El Paso.

Since October, over 55 adults posed as unaccompanied minors. More than 559 cases were found in the fiscal year of 2021. Officials believe this trend will continue in 2022.

Migrants are exploiting the treatment the US gives children that are found at the border without parents. Under the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008, illegal minors are placed with U.S. sponsors and face low risks of deportation.

Posing as an unaccompanied minor is a “common tactic” to avoid deportation, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

“Transnational Criminal Organizations (TCOs) frequently recruit and exploit individuals, convincing them to pose as unaccompanied children (UCs) as they are smuggled into the United States,” border officials said in a statement.

Adult immigrants who pose as children can be charged with providing false statements to federal agents and conspiracy to defraud the U.S. Those caught can spend up to five years in prison.

“El Paso Sector agents, working jointly with HSI and the US Attorney’s office, are working tirelessly to identify and prosecute adult migrants entering the United States illegally who fraudulently claim to be an unaccompanied child or juvenile,” said El Paso Sector Border Patrol Chief Gloria I. Chavez.