Migrant Children in Border Patrol Custody increased to 4,200 and 3,000 at CBP

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On Sunday morning, the US Border Patrol was holding more than 4,200 unaccompanied migrant children in short-term holding facilities including jail-like stations unfit to house minors. At least 3,000 of the unaccompanied children in the CBP (Customs and Border Protection) custody had been held longer than 72 hours. Point to be noted that the CBP is legally obligated to transfer most unaccompanied minors to the ORR (Office of Refugee Resettlement). The ORR oversees shelters licensed to house children within 3 days of taking them into custody. On Sunday, the number of unaccompanied children in CBP custody represents a 31% increase from early last week, when the agency was holding more than 3,200 minors. However, the number of children held longer than 3 days more than doubled.

The government records have indicated that an average of 565 unaccompanied minors entered CBP custody each day during the past week. The records also show that unaccompanied minors are spending an average of 117 hours in a Border Patrol facility. The secretary of Homeland Security, Alejandro Mayorkas said there is no place for a child. Moreover, the statistics highlight the humanitarian crisis emerging at the US-Mexico border resulting from a sustained increase in the number of unaccompanied children being taken into custody and a lack of sufficient shelter space to house them. At least, 9,500 unaccompanied children entered US border custody in February with more than 7,000 transferred to the ORR. It is noteworthy that arrivals of Central American teenagers and children have only increased in March.

The detention conditions have become overcrowded with thousands of children held in short-term Border Patrol facilities as most of which were built to detain migrant men. On Thursday, the lawyers conducting oversight interviewed children. It was a part of a federal court case reported sleeping on the floor, being hungry, only showering once in 7 days, and not being able to call their family members. A lawyer at the National Center for Youth Law, Neha Desai said, “One of them shared that he could only see the sun when he showered because you can see the sun through the window”. The refugee agency has been releasing hundreds of migrant children to family members and other sponsors every week. But, its discharge rate has been eclipsed by the number of minors entering US border custody.