Tide of Children Sweeps Across U.S. Borders

[jimmy olsen]

Why did the author feel the need to state they are human children?

http://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/human-tide-children-sweeps-across-u-s-borders-n128966

Human Tide of Children Sweeps Across U.S. Borders
By Mark Potter and Kerry Sanders

As he parried questions from senators Wednesday about the flood of children flowing into the U.S. from Central America, the secretary of homeland security reminded Americans that the surge is more than just a political crisis — it's also a humanitarian crisis.

So many children are flowing across the Mexican border into Texas without their parents that government facilities are overwhelmed trying to process them all, Jeh Johnson said at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing.

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Almost 50,000 unaccompanied children have illegally moved into the U.S. through the Rio Grande Valley since October, according to government statistics. Most of them are from Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador.

Recently, 14 children who were helped into the country by three adults, including a 5-year-old girl, crossed a dam near the Rio Grande after having traveled almost 1,000 miles from El Salvador.

Instead of dispersing to safety somewhere in the Southwest, they promptly turned themselves in to U.S. authorities, who could, for now, protect them from deadly violence and poverty at home.

Border Surge: Children Caught Crossing Into Texas
Nightly News

"The maras gang is killing our children," Dora Hidalgo told NBC News. "That's why I escaped with my son."

The maras are thuggish gangs — some of which, like the infamous MS-13, or Mara Salvatrucha, began in the U.S. before spreading south to Central America — that traffic in drugs, arms and human beings.

A relative of one of the 14 children who crossed near the Rio Grande dam told NBC News his parents paid a smuggler more than $8,000 to keep their child out of the hands of the maras, which aggressively recruit new members among middle and high school students, according to the FBI.

Some families have been drawn here by rumors that the U.S. is letting women and children into the country. That's what led Roxanna Lopez, 20, of Guatemala to travel with her son to the border at McAllen, Texas — where even legal immigration often tops 300 people a day.

Lopez told NBC News she paid smugglers everything she had because she'd heard that all women and children were welcome,

U.S. officials say that isn't necessarily true. But their proclamations haven't stopped the surge.

[CountDeMoney]

Really? A tide? Sweeping?

[Ed Anger]

The future lettuce pickers of America.

[11B4V]

The future lettuce pickers of America.

They work for cheap.

[dps]

Why did the author feel the need to state they are human children?

He didn't.  He used the common-enough phrase "a human tide" and modified it with the phrase "of children".

And to think, you're teaching English.  God help South Korea.

[Phillip V]

The future lettuce pickers of America.

Their parents, but not the children.

IIRC, illegal children can and do attend American public schools. (?)

I say give them citizenship after 8 years of service in the American military.

[Admiral Yi]

We're already turning away citizens from recruiting offices I believe.

[Josquius]

I wonder, in the US do you get many adults claiming to be kids for asylum purposes?
Hell.... I don't think I've ever heard much about asylum seekers in the us.

[jimmy olsen]

Why did the author feel the need to state they are human children?

He didn't.  He used the common-enough phrase "a human tide" and modified it with the phrase "of children".

And to think, you're teaching English.  God help South Korea.

It sounds awkward to me.

[Jaron]

I agree, Tim. Human does seem like a bit of an exaggeration in this case.

[Eddie Teach]

I'm pretty sure most of these children are in fact illegal aliens.

[Jaron]

 

[alfred russel]

Really? A tide? Sweeping?

Other options:

"a lot of children" not poetic enough
"a gang of children" are you calling latinos gang members? are you racist?
"a mass of children" draws parallels between hispanic children and cancer invading the US body politic. also racist.
"a mob of children" racist
"a swarm of children" racist racist racist
"a flock of children" mexican obesity is worse than in the US. can't compare them to birds (except ostriches--obese ostriches)
"a plethora of children" makes me think of the Three Amigos. Also set in Mexico. Funny movie. Racist.
"a murder of children" probably the best choice

[Valmy]

We can use these children to create a fanatical army of super soldiers through unethical government experiments.  Hmmmmm I feel a book coming on.

[HVC]

Really? A tide? Sweeping?

Other options:

"a lot of children" not poetic enough
"a gang of children" are you calling latinos gang members? are you racist?
"a mass of children" draws parallels between hispanic children and cancer invading the US body politic. also racist.
"a mob of children" racist
"a swarm of children" racist racist racist
"a flock of children" mexican obesity is worse than in the US. can't compare them to birds (except ostriches--obese ostriches)
"a plethora of children" makes me think of the Three Amigos. Also set in Mexico. Funny movie. Racist.
"a murder of children" probably the best choice

I nominate that the name for a group of children be "An Annoyance"