The number of juveniles who are arrested while trying to gain access to the US continues to grow on a yearly basis. At the same time, so does a rather obscure program, which has given legal status to many of these minors, as well as a pathway to getting a green card.
This increase could soon slow to a crawl, with Congress considering alterations to the little-known Special Immigrant Juvenile Program. New legislation in the House of Representatives, which is currently pending, could tighten eligibility. US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has recently released new figures, which show a massive increase in the number of petitions for the special status during the past five years.
The US government granted 1869 such petitions in 2011, but by 2015, the figure had undergone a massive increase, to as many as 8739, which then almost doubled again to 15,101 last year. The rise reflects the unprecedented increase in undocumented minors that have come streaming over the southwest border of the US since 2011. Many of them are from troubled Central American nations, such as El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras, as well as Mexico.
Following an arrest, the youngsters are placed in legal removal proceedings that can last for several years. Many are eligible for the special program, but the rapid increase has seen USCIS taking a harder line and demanding more evidence of eligibility.