According to Stuff (a publication from New Zealand), as many as 10,000 Mexican children have risked their lives this year traveling alone to the northern border and trying to cross into the United States.  According to Desarrollo Integral de la Familia (DIF), a Mexican philanthropic organization, there were 9,100 unaccompanied children picked up attempting to cross the border from January to November of this year, and the figure could top 10,000 for the year.