New internal documents from the Department of Health and Human Services show how quickly the number of migrant children crossing the border is overwhelming the government’s vast resources.
Driving the news: In the week ending March 1, the Border Patrol referred to HHS custody to an average of 321 children per day, according to documents obtained by Axios. That’s up from a weekly average of 203 in late January and early February – and just 47 a day during the first week of January.
- The same documents, dated Tuesday, say the shelter system is 94% occupied and is expected to reach its maximum this month.
Meanwhile, some of President Biden’s top officials Immigration officials are planning a trip to the US-Mexico border this weekend, sources tell Axios.
- The influx of unaccompanied minors is an explosive growing problem for the new president and his policy and welfare agencies.
- “A trip has not yet been completed and the White House continues to work on capturing details and logistics for a possible visit,” White House spokesman Vedant Patel told Axios.
- DHS and HHS spokespersons did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Behind the scenes: HHS has already moved to open overflow shelters and increase the rate at which it releases children to caregivers already in the US
- In the week ending March 1, an average of 174 children were released from HHS custody every day. That had risen from a weekly average of 90 in late January and early February, according to the documents.
- Nevertheless, the number of migrants detained in the border patrol for more than three days is increasing almost every day, according to additional documents reviewed by Axios.
- Children and teens caught crossing the border without legal guardians are held in Border Patrol facilities for more than three days, an average of 77 hours, as CNN first reported.
The big picture: This week, DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas stressed that the current situation is not yet a crisis. Regardless, it is clear that the number of children crossing the US-Mexico border could quickly overwhelm government systems, in a way similar to the 2014 and 2019 crises.
- The resurgence comes as the administration continues to use a public health emergency to quickly deport adult migrants and some families – including asylum seekers.
- At the same time, the Biden has flipped the Trump administration’s policy to use the public health order to quickly reject unaccompanied children.
- The source that provided Biden’s internal administrative documents also expects to see family migration increase in the coming months.
What to watch: Internally, government officials are sounding alarm bells. As Axios reported earlier, DHS expects a record number of child migrants this year.
- HHS has told the White House that it will need a capacity of 20,000 beds to humanely accommodate them.