In 2018, U.S. Border Patrol arrested overs
58,000 unaccompanied migrant children at the southern border.
And more than a quarter million children have been apprehended since 2014.
The majority of these kids are between 15 and 17 years old
and are escaping gang violence, poverty and abuse.
As they flee to the U.S., migrant children are especially vulnerable to
exploitation, human trafficking, kidnapping and sexual abuse.
For 16-year-old Omar, that opportunity was in the form of a migrant caravan.
He grabbed a few personal belongings and embarked on a 2,000-mile journey to the U.S.
While on the road, he met Rafael
and Fanny.
He traveled with the brother and sister for nearly two months, from Honduras to Tijuana.
But now that they're at the border,
they need to decide whether to stick together or part ways.
But Omar isn't so sure about the migrant shelters.
He fears that they'll end up sending him home to Honduras.
While Omar figures out a way to cross into the U.S.,
he has to ask for change on the streets to survive.
At the shelter in Tijuana where Rafael plans to drop off his sister,
a group of kids gets ready to meet with lawyers and then head to the border.
The lawyers will try to get the kids safely to the U.S.
We've blurred their faces to protect their identities.
Unaccompanied minors represented by an attorney are 5 times more likely to stay in the U.S.
At the root of the Central American exodus is decades of civil war in the Northern Triangle:
Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador.
And the U.S. was quite involved in the unrest.
In the 80s and 90s, the United States backed military regimes
and had a continuous military presence in Honduras to prevent
communism from spreading in the region.
Roughly 80% of unaccompanied migrant children come from the countries
that are still grappling with the aftermath of war, where violence is rampant.
Back at the shelter, the mood is somber.
Even with the help of human rights lawyers, the group was not allowed to reach U.S. soil.
Many kids are not only escaping from violence on the streets.
They are also fleeing from violence at home.
But even if these kids make it to the U.S., they'll be arrested and held in Border Patrol facilities.
They are then transferred to shelters across the U.S.
until they can be placed with family members or foster families.
It can then take months, or even years, for the government to decide on their asylum applications.
In most cases, the requests are denied.
For Fanny, the best shot at getting asylum in the U.S. might be going through the shelter.