Paula’s Heartbreaking Journey: A Teen’s Twice-Failed Border Crossing to Reunite with Family
A 16-year-old Mexican girl, known only as Paula, has twice been returned to Mexico after attempting to cross the U.S. border alone. Her story highlights the challenges faced by unaccompanied minors trying to reunite with family. Official records show that over 126,000 Mexican children have been sent back since 2015 under U.S. immigration policies.
Paula’s family has been separated for years by the border. Her father crossed into the U.S. when she was just three years old. Later, at age 14, her mother and three siblings also made the journey, leaving her behind in Mexico.
In November 2025, Paula tried to follow them, attempting the crossing alone at 16. Under U.S. policy, Mexican minors are immediately returned, and she was sent back to Mexico. She tried again but was returned a second time. Since then, she has been in the care of Chihuahua’s Integral Family Development System (DIF). Between 2015 and September 2025, Mexico’s National Migration Institute recorded 126,392 cases of unaccompanied Mexican minors being detained and returned by U.S. authorities. In 2021 alone, the Biden administration returned 18,321 children—almost double the previous year’s figure. Yet, only around one in five of these cases is reviewed under the William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act (TVPRA) for possible trafficking risks.
Paula remains in state care while her family stays across the border. The high number of returns reflects the U.S. contiguous country policy, which allows for rapid deportation of Mexican minors. Few of these cases receive further scrutiny for trafficking concerns under current procedures.
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