ORLANDO, Fla. — It's a multimillion-dollar problem, putting pressure on the United States immigration system.
Now federal officials admit more than 52,000 unaccompanied children who illegally crossed the nation’s southwest border this year could be anywhere.
Eyewitness News found out more than 4,000 of the children made their way to Florida, and Channel 9's Stephanie Bertini found one teenaged boy living in central Florida. He agreed to speak with her as long as his identity was not revealed.
The boy’s footprints mark the pathway of an illegal journey fueled by dreams.
“We had to walk a lot… and we only ate a few times. We didn't have much water,” he told Bertini
He said he was desperate to escape the violence and poverty in Central America, so he crossed borders. He left his home in El Salvador, traveled through Guatemala and Mexico into the United States. He made his way to the States along with a human smuggler and other children.
“Sixteen- and 14-year old girls,” the boy explained. “We even had a little girl who was traveling alone, and she was only like 7.”
Eventually, he was caught in Arizona and picked up by Border Patrol. His name was added to the list of the more than 52,000 children who illegally entered the U.S. this year. He told federal agents he was looking for his mother and was eventually put on an airplane and sent to Orlando.
His mom's eyes filled with tears as she talked about the emotional reunion with her son. He was only 2-years-old when she made her own illegal journey to America and left him behind with relatives. He is 15 now.
“I did it for something better,” his mother said.
Just a few months ago, she said she found a human smuggler and paid $5,000 to save her boy from the reality of life back home.
“As soon as kids turn 13 the gangs want to recruit them,” she said.
It was a dangerous journey for anyone to make, especially a child. Dehydration and hunger kill so many who cross the southwest border.
And after all that went into bringing the mother and her son back together here in central Florida, their reunion could be short-lived. An immigration judge at a federal courthouse in Orlando will ultimately decide the boy’s fate.
Attorney Charlene Seda took on the case.
“What do you think is his potential?” Bertini asked.
“I cannot say because I want to hope for the best, but he doesn't have very high chances,” Seda explained.
But with the kinds of goals some might take for granted, the boy holds onto hope.
“I want to finish studying and be able to work,” he said.
Even if he gets deported, he said the journey was worth all of the risks.
“I feel in peace because there's no violence,” he said.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is responsible for the children who cross the border illegally. They might end up in a shelter or with a guardian, if possible.
Bertini asked if the immigration status of the boy’s mother should affect that outcome. An HHS spokesperson said she can take care of her son legally, regardless of her status. Immigration issues are handled on a case-by-case basis.