U.S. immigration laws prescribe different treatment for illegal minors than that shown to adults. The latter can be (though by no means necessarily are) deported almost immediately upon entry into America. Those under the age of 18, on the other hand, must by law be turned over to Health and Human Services which then places them with relatives (often illegal themselves) or sponsors somewhere in the U.S.
This ill-considered law thus opens a loophole for adult migrants sufficiently youthful-looking or possessing convincing-enough documentation to avoid immediate deportation.
In the El Paso, Texas, border sector, for example, Border Patrol agents have told Fox News that so far this fiscal year more than 665 adult border crossers have been caught falsely claiming to be children. (Note that El Paso is just one of nine sectors along our border with Mexico. Figures for the remaining sectors were not given.)
That number includes imposters identified in three separate incidents last week. In one case, agents revealed through questioning a 22-year-old man and a 19-year-old woman who had claimed to be under age. In a second incident, three adult men from Guatemala—ages 26, 25 and 18—were outed through discrepancies in their phony documents, as were three Guatemalans—ages 21, 22 and 22—in a third case. Theoretically, the faux children would be charged criminally, but don’t bet on it.
The adults masquerading as children are typically outed through the use of biometrics and databases, but the process, like so much of our flawed border security system, is often hit-or-miss.
For more, see the NY Post.