Pope Francis calls for protection of unaccompanied minors migrating to the US

On Monday, Pope Francis has officially stepped into the debate regarding undocumented minors migrating from Central America to the US. The pontiff has recently issued a letter that was read by Vatican envoy Christophe Pierre at a migration and development conference in Mexico City, calling for the international community to take action regarding the innocent minors who have been caught between their parents' wishes for a better life in America and the US border policy on undocumented migration.

The letter, which was read before the attending foreign ministers of Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador, read that Pope Francis is more concerned about the damage done to the growing tide of children migrating to US soil.

He stated, "This is a category of migrants from Central America and Mexico itself who cross the border with the United States under extreme conditions and in pursuit of a hope that in most cases turns out to be vain."

Pope Francis is also demanding in the letter that attention should be done on informing the public of the dangers of having their children go unaccompanied to the north and also promote the development of the countries of origin of the migrants.

Channel News Asia said that US President Barack Obama has been pushing for a $3.7 billion financing deal to be approved in the Congress in order to address the border issue, but has yet to receive welcoming news from several Republicans. Since October, American authorities have detained around 57,000 unaccompanied minors, which is double the number from the same period last year.

Also on Monday, the first group fo Central Americans have been deported under the US's stepped-up efforts to curb illegal immigration. The group fo 40 adults and children had left the country on a chartered flight to Honduras.

The Department of Homeland Security said in a statement, "Our border is not open to illegal migration and we will send recent illegal migrants back. We expect additional migrants will be returned to Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador in the coming days and weeks."

Tags

Pope Francis, US Border Police, US border crisis, unaccompanied children immigrants

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