Number of unaccompanied children at border eases in April

By ELLIOT SPAGAT

Associated Press

May 12, 2021 4:19 AM PT

SAN DIEGO — The number of unaccompanied children encountered on the U.S. border with Mexico eased in April from an all-time high a month earlier, while more adults were found coming without families, officials said this week.

Authorities encountered 17,171 children traveling alone in April, down 9% from 18,960 in March, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, but still well above the previous high of 11,475 reported in May 2019 by the Border Patrol, which began publishing numbers in 2009.

Overall, the Border Patrol’s 173,460 encounters with migrants on the southern border last month were up 3% from 169,213 in March, the highest level since April 2000.

The numbers aren’t directly comparable because a majority of those stopped last month were quickly expelled under federal pandemic-related powers that deny the right to seek asylum. Expulsion carries no legal consequences, so many people try to cross multiple times.

Border Patrol encounters with families were down 10% to 48,226, from 53,406 in March. Slightly over 1 in 3 families were expelled under pandemic rules.

The numbers revealed Tuesday offer the latest read on one of the most serious challenges to President Biden’s administration. Despite April’s encouraging news on unaccompanied children and families, Biden has a lot riding on a new “humane” asylum system that he has yet to unveil.

Single adults from Mexico and Central America drove the overall increase in arrivals last month. The Border Patrol had 108,301 encounters with adults traveling without children, up 12% from 97,074 in March. Nearly 9 in 10 adult encounters ended in expulsions under pandemic-related authority granted by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Biden has exempted unaccompanied children from expulsion, so they may stay in the U.S. while pursuing asylum. Families with young children are also often released in the U.S. while their cases wind through the immigration court system.

The U.S. has made strides in moving children from grossly overcrowded Border Patrol facilities to Department of Health and Human Services shelters, which are more suited to longer-term stays until children can be placed with sponsors in the U.S., typically parents or other close relatives.

The average stay for an unaccompanied child in Border Patrol custody has plummeted to about 20 hours, below the legal limit of 72 hours and down from 133 hours in late March, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro N. Mayorkas said last week.

There were 455 unaccompanied children in Border Patrol custody on Monday, down from more than 5,700 in late March.

Health and Human Services has opened 14 emergency intake centers, raising capacity to nearly 20,000 beds from just 952 beds on March 13, when the Federal Emergency Management Agency stepped in to help. As of Monday, Health and Human Services said it had 20,669 children in its care.

Mexico is reluctant to let Central American families with young children reenter, especially in Tamaulipas state, bordering Texas’ Rio Grande Valley, the busiest corridor for illegal crossings.
Many are being released in the U.S. while their asylum cases are considered by immigration authorities.

Some of the families are flown to El Paso or San Diego to be expelled where Mexican authorities are more willing to take them.