Biden’s government spends $ 62 million a week looking after unaccompanied migrant children

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In the past month, HHS has announced or opened at least 11 new facilities with more on the way, relying on convention centers, military sites, and inflow space to try to get children out of Border Patrol stations, which are similar to prison-like conditions and unsuitable for children. The department oversees a shelter network for migrant children, but that capacity has been downsized over the past year in response to the pandemic, prompting the agency to rush to bring more expensive temporary facilities online.

The daily cost per child is more than double that of the department’s already existing daycare program – about $ 775 per day, compared to about $ 290 per day – according to figures shared with CNN and first reported by the Washington Post. HHS cited the need to develop facilities and hire staff in a short period of time as one of the reasons why temporary shelters are more expensive.

Combined, the sites will provide more than 16,000 beds to house children, in addition to the approximately 13,721 beds in the ward’s permanent care program, which until recently operated at reduced capacity due to Covid-19.

According to HHS, approximately 8,876 children occupy beds in the department’s accredited daycare program and approximately 8,124 children in the temporary locations.

Despite the higher charges, a White House official told CNN this week that there are no plans to ask Congress for additional funding from now on. In 2019, during that year’s border crisis, the Trump administration requested $ 4.5 billion in emergency funding.
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Asked about the high cost on Friday, White House press secretary Jen Psaki quoted 2019. “The previous administration requested – and received – nearly $ 3 billion in additional funding from Congress for the program (unaccompanied children) in 2019, ”she said, adding that before then millions more had been transferred to the program.

In March, U.S. Customs and Border Protection hit 18,890 unaccompanied children, a record high and nearly double the number of child arrests in February, according to the agency’s data. The spike in arrivals has resulted in overcrowded conditions in border facilities and, as a result, there is an urgent need to open facilities to receive children.

“By activating temporary shelters – and having potential shelters with reserve status – the Refugee Resettlement Office has the ability to respond to ever-changing numbers of referrals and, in this case, an emergency,” the department said in a statement. , adding that it is difficult to predict ultimate costs given the continuing need.

In March 2021, 13,832 unaccompanied children were transferred to the care of the Office of Refugee Resettlement, the federal agency under HHS charged with the care of children, the most referrals in the history of the program, according to HHS.

The growing number of children in HHS custody indicates some progress as the number of unaccompanied migrant children in Border Patrol facilities is declining. But it will likely drive up weekly costs as well.

On Thursday, there were 16,941 children in the custody of HHS and 3,881 in the custody of CBP – an agency not equipped to care for children – according to the latest available government data.

Still, the number of children met daily exceeds the number fired from HHS, meaning more arrivals than released to sponsors, indicating a need for more capacity.

“The fundamental problem at the moment is that more children are arriving every day than are released to parents and sponsors. More and more capacity will continue to be needed unless the number of arriving children decreases or HHS can be released more quickly. Children,” says Mark Greenberg, a senior fellow at the Migration Policy Institute and a former HHS official.

“The most important thing it accomplishes is helping get children out of CBP shelters, who are very busy and are not a good place for children under any circumstances, especially during the pandemic,” Greenberg said, referring to the building capacity.

The average length of stay in HHS custody is 31 days, according to internal documents obtained by CNN. Time in custody varies by sponsor category, ranging from parents or guardians to distant relatives. For example, children in custody who have a parent or guardian in the US are likely to be fired from that sponsor within an average of 25 days, compared to an unrelated sponsor or distant relative, which could take 54 days, the documents show.

According to the Department of Homeland Security, in more than 80% of cases, the child has a relative in the United States.

The Biden government is trying to speed up that process and encourage parents or guardians, many of whom are undocumented, to release their children from detention. But until a sponsor is identified and vetted, children will remain in US custody.

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