In spite of much skepticism from some quarters over the policies of the Obama administration, 85% of the unaccompanied immigrant minors who arrived in the United States over the past summer from Central America showed up for their scheduled immigration hearings, according to Newsradio 1200 WOAI.
Texas immigration attorney Eric Bernal says that many of the immigrants have a good chance of being given the legal right to stay in the United States and are keen to make their case in court. “They end up showing up, and they get their bond back because they have shown up, and a lot of times they actually win their case,” Bernal points out.
Many of the unaccompanied immigrant minors claim that gang crime is out of control in their home towns in Guatemala and Honduras. Bernal also believes that one of the primary reasons for people wanting to stay in the United States is that they would suffer political persecution if they returned home, which is the main reason why refugees from Cuba tend to be allowed to stay in the country.
Critics of the Obama administration have previously attacked it for its decision to release the minors in the United States, believing that they would not show up for their immigration hearings. The mass influx of immigrants from Central America now seems to have come to an end, with just 2,400 crossing the border in September ‒ the lowest figure since the beginning of last year.
