US Government captured 14 thousand Children in March traveling across the Mexican Border

Listen to this article

The US CBP authorities issued a statement on Thursday saying the US government captured at least 19 thousand children in March, traveling alone across the Mexican border. The situation is a major challenge for President Joe Biden because the largest monthly number was ever recorded in a single month. The increase caused due to a complex mix of elements in the United States and Central America. The move came after the decision of the Biden administration to exempt unaccompanied children from pandemic-related powers to immediately expel most people from the country without giving them an opportunity to seek asylum. Most children were instead released to sponsors in the US, usually parents or close relatives while being allowed to pursue their cases in heavily backlogged immigration courts.

The US Customs and Border Protection also confirmed the encountering of at least 18,890 unaccompanied children in March. This figure is a significant amount of increase compared to previous highs of 11,475 in May 2019 and in June 2014. The number of March was almost double the 9,457 unaccompanied kids encountered by CBP in February and more than five times the tally of 3,221 in March 2020. The massive increase in children traveling alone including some as young as 3 and families has severely tightened border holding facilities. They were not allowed to hold people for more than 3 days but often do. It created an emergency situation as the US government started finding space and hire staff to care for children for longer terms.

It is noteworthy that a hurricane severely damaged Central America in November and added urgency to widespread poverty and violence, which caused people to flee for decades. More than 4 thousand people at a CBP holding facility have been jammed into a space designed for 250 at a tent complex in Donna, Texas. It is important that CBP must transfer unaccompanied children within 72 hours to the US Department of Health and Human Services. The CBP facilities are more suited to longer-term care while arrangements are made to release them. The HHS opened its first temporary holding facility in Carrizo Springs, Texas, on 22^nd February. It has since struck a slew of agreements to occupy large venues near the border, including convention centers in Dallas and San Diego, a stadium in San Antonio, Texas, and a Fort Bliss army base in El Paso, Texas.