/ Modified jun 24, 2015 8:25 a.m.

Unaccompanied Migrant Children Arrests Down

National number cut in half compared with last year; in Tucson apprehensions fall 36%.

Listen:

More than 4,000 unaccompanied migrant children and teens have been apprehended in the Tucson sector of the Border Patrol since October, a 36 percent decrease from the same time last year, data showed.

Tucson’s sector covers 262 border miles between New Mexico and Yuma.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection released data comparing apprehensions from October 2014 to June 1 that showed a drop in unaccompanied minors.

Apprehensions of minors along the Southwestern border for that period were down 51 percent, to 22,869, federal data showed.

The Rio Grande Valley in Texas saw the biggest spike last year with more than 35,000 children and teens crossing the border illegally without parents. So far this year that sector is also seeing a drop in apprehension of minors of 60 percent.

Most of the unaccompanied minors are from Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras, consistent with last year’s trend.

By posting comments, you agree to our
AZPM encourages comments, but comments that contain profanity, unrelated information, threats, libel, defamatory statements, obscenities, pornography or that violate the law are not allowed. Comments that promote commercial products or services are not allowed. Comments in violation of this policy will be removed. Continued posting of comments that violate this policy will result in the commenter being banned from the site.

By submitting your comments, you hereby give AZPM the right to post your comments and potentially use them in any other form of media operated by this institution.
AZPM is a service of the University of Arizona and our broadcast stations are licensed to the Arizona Board of Regents who hold the trademarks for Arizona Public Media and AZPM. We respectfully acknowledge the University of Arizona is on the land and territories of Indigenous peoples.
The University of Arizona