The number of border-crossing juveniles who file legal claims for asylum is likely to exceed 40,000 by October, and is roughly six times the level seen in 2010.
The spike is caused by the growing wave of unskilled Central American migrants who are crossing into Texas on the belief that President Barack Obama’s policies will allow them to settle in the United States.
The number of juveniles seeking residency rose from 7,162 in 2010, to 11,411 in 2012, and 21,351 in 2013, according to the federal data cited by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse at Syracuse University.
During the first six months of 2014, the data shows that 19,671 juveniles asked for residency. If that six-month upward trend continues, more than 40,000 juveniles will file for green cards by October 2014.
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