Child Deportees Face Abuse, Activist Says

Children deported to Mexico after illegally entering Southern California are routinely thrown together with juvenile criminals in Tijuana jails where they are often mistreated and abused, according to an immigrants rights advocate who visited Los Angeles to rally support for a petition to the Mexican government on behalf of the youngsters.

Jose Luis Perez Canchola, director of the Center for Migrant Investigations and Studies, said last week that U.S. immigration authorities turn over about 20 unaccompanied youngsters daily to Mexican authorities, an increase of more than 25% over the previous year.

The increase has also been noted by social workers in Los Angeles who say they have seen a growth in the number of homeless immigrant children traveling on their own.

The children are held in jail for about a week, pending deportation to their countries or passage back to their homes in the interior of Mexico, Perez said. Most range in age from 9 to 16, he said.