BAKERSFIELD,CA--A record number of undocumented children streaming across the border unaccompanied has some Kern County residents split.
"Who sent the kids over here. Adults," said Bakersfield resident Steve Wren.
Others believe the children are not coming for economic purposes but to escape violence in their home countries.
"Those children will continue to so long as those regions are collapsing in an orgy of violence," said CSUB sociology professor Gonzalo Santos.
Kern County holds an estimated 120,000 illegal immigrants.The immigration debate gained fuel when protesters in Murrieta continued to gather near a border patrol facility this week, waiting for buses transporting undocumented immigrants.
Bakersfield resident Cheryl Wren says undocumented immigrants use up medical and social resources and with the surge of minors without parents, it opens up the possibility for more crimes.
"What happens to those kids if there's not anybody there to take care of them at the border. We already have human trafficking going on and teenage prostitution," said Wren.
Some people say instead of turning the children around, they should be considered refugees under the immigration and nationality act.
"This is a humanitarian crisis. This is not a political ploy and this is not a normal flux of immigrants. We are dealing with an emergency localized crisis that involves children. This is a human rights issue and it's an international human rights issue," said Santos.
According to the Department of Homeland Security, since the fiscal year began in October, more than 52,000 children have crossed the U.S.-Mexico border.
"Who sent the kids over here. Adults," said Bakersfield resident Steve Wren.
Others believe the children are not coming for economic purposes but to escape violence in their home countries.
"Those children will continue to so long as those regions are collapsing in an orgy of violence," said CSUB sociology professor Gonzalo Santos.
Kern County holds an estimated 120,000 illegal immigrants.The immigration debate gained fuel when protesters in Murrieta continued to gather near a border patrol facility this week, waiting for buses transporting undocumented immigrants.
Bakersfield resident Cheryl Wren says undocumented immigrants use up medical and social resources and with the surge of minors without parents, it opens up the possibility for more crimes.
"What happens to those kids if there's not anybody there to take care of them at the border. We already have human trafficking going on and teenage prostitution," said Wren.
Some people say instead of turning the children around, they should be considered refugees under the immigration and nationality act.
"This is a humanitarian crisis. This is not a political ploy and this is not a normal flux of immigrants. We are dealing with an emergency localized crisis that involves children. This is a human rights issue and it's an international human rights issue," said Santos.
According to the Department of Homeland Security, since the fiscal year began in October, more than 52,000 children have crossed the U.S.-Mexico border.
