26,000 unaccompanied kids at US border

NEW YORK: Almost 26,000 unaccompanied children from Central American countries were apprehended at the US border in the first half of 2016, Unicef said on Tuesday.

The figure represents an increase from the 18,500 arrivals of unaccompanied children recorded during the same period in 2015, the UN agency found, noting that the figure for the first six months of 2014 stood at more than 44,500.

Another 29,700 people travelling as family units, mainly mothers and young children, were also apprehended at the US-Mexico border from January to June.

The children face the risk of being kidnapped, raped, trafficked and killed on the perilous journey. However, they still attempt to reach the United States to escape gang violence and poverty in their home countries, mainly El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras. Many children never make it to the US border: thousands have died or been kidnapped along the way. About 16,000 children were apprehended as they were making their way through Mexico during the first six months of 2016. — dpa