45% fewer unaccompanied minors arrive at southern US border

WASHINGTON: Officials charged with overseeing the southern US border said Friday that fewer unaccompanied minors arrived at the border in the last six months compared with the same time period one year earlier.
The number of unaccompanied minors arriving at the border reached alarming proportions last year. President Barack Obama declared the situation a "humanitarian crisis."
But the department said the number is down significantly, dropping to 15,627 in the October-through-March period, a 45% decline.
Unaccompanied minors are classified as people under the age of 18 who arrive without an adult.
A reason for the decline is better cooperation with Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras.
The department also has deployed "historic levels of front-line personnel, technology and infrastructure" to reduce the flow of illegal immigrants across the border, the statement said.
In the middle of 2014 the number of unaccompanied minors arriving at the border forced the department to take action to stem the tide. Among the tactics begun were campaigns in Central American countries to discourage families from sending their children alone or with smugglers on the long journey northward. – dpa