U.S. Southern Border: 117 % increase in children 12 and younger crossing illegally

latimes.com reported…Not only have more unaccompanied children illegally crossed the southern border this year — more than twice last year’s total — but they are crossing at much younger ages, according to a study released this week.

There has been a 117% increase in apprehensions among unaccompanied children ages 12 and younger and a 12% increase among teenagers between the 2013 and 2014 fiscal years, according to government statistics obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request by the Pew Research Center. Also, the number of unaccompanied girls that have been caught crossing the border illegally has increased more rapidly this year than the number of boys, Pew research found. Read Article