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Border crisis 101: eight things to know about unaccompanied children

Here’s a look at today’s immigration crisis and how it compares to the recent past.

7. What percentage of children fail to appear in court?

Charles Dharapak/AP/File
Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson (l.) sits with Deputy Chief of Border Patrol Ronald Vitiello on Capitol Hill in Washington in June as they testify before the House Homeland Security Committee.

Specific figures for unaccompanied children are unavailable, according to the Legal Access Project. But children who are placed with a sponsor and leave government custody have more opportunity to skip their court appearance. Statistics from the Executive Office of Immigration Review show that 20 to 30 percent of all immigrants failed to appear in court between 2008 and 2012.

Juan Osuna, director of the Justice Department's Executive Office of Immigration Review, told a Senate panel on Wednesday that "46 percent of juveniles actually don't show up before their immigration hearings."

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