Protesters Turn Back Busloads of Immigrants in California

An ugly welcome was waiting for detained immigrants as about 100 protesters, waving US flags, blocked three buses from entering a California processing center, reports Ricardo Cano for the Desert Sun. The United States confronts a humanitarian and immigration crisis as thousands of unaccompanied children from Central America cross the border, crowding detention centers and straining government resources. Morale among border patrol officers is low. Theories for the surge in illegal crossings include hope that proposed immigration reform, unlikely to pass any time soon, might grant legal status for immigrant minors already in the United States; drug and gang violence in Central America; and a struggling global economy where job creation does not keep pace with population growth. Immigrants are kept in temporary detention centers while federal officials track down families. Activists try to deliver clothing, toys and health care; immigration opponents insist uncomfortable conditions will deter the flow. The challenge is complex as US citizens wrestle with how personal behavior and policies on family planning, inequality, gun sales, unskilled labor and the illegal drug trade influence the flow. – YaleGlobal