New Data Show Child Migrant Crisis Began Before DACA

"Newly available data—analyzed in this study for the first time—show that the massive increase in unaccompanied alien children (UACs) began before DACA was even announced in June 2012. Without knowledge of the program, the children who came to the border in early 2012 could not have been motivated by DACA. In fact, fewer UACs entered illegally in the 3 months after DACA than the 3 months before it.

The reality is that fewer children migrated illegally in 2014 than a decade earlier, indicating that illegal child migration is not a recent phenomenon. While the percentage of illegal entries by children has increased, this is mainly because entry for adults has become much more difficult due to greater border security and the absence of legal avenues for admission. Congress should respond to the expansion of DACA by enacting its own reforms without fear that those reforms will launch a rush to the border.

Read the Full Study: Examining the UAC-DACA Link" - David Bier, Feb. 9, 2015.