Migrant Youths Face Perils, Uncertainty at US Border

EL PASO, TEXAS - Jose Luis Boyeduana waited 13 years to reunite with his parents. The 16-year-old Ecuadorian national made the decision at the end of 2020 to travel to the U.S., undertaking a 3,000-kilometer journey to America’s southern border.

“I entered on January 26, through a border crossing at Miguel Aleman [a municipality in Tamaulipas, Mexico],” Boyeduana told VOA, adding that he was held for two months at a federal facility in Roma, Texas. Sorry, but your browser cannot support embedded video of this type, you can download this video to view it offline. Tens of thousands of unaccompanied minors have been intercepted at the U.S.-Mexico border in recent months, forcing the Biden administration to scramble to identify additional facilities — some makeshift — to house them.