The number of unaccompanied children trying to cross the U.S. southern border is on the rise, raising the specter of both a humanitarian crisis and a high-stakes political problem for the Biden administration.
According to the Wall Street Journal, “About 2,200 children have been illegally crossing the border weekly in February.” The Journal reports that illegal crossings this month are expected to be 50% higher than in January.
Compounding the crisis, space in the government’s network of shelters has been cut 40% due to Covid restrictions.
Earlier in the week, CBS News reported that Homeland Security officials are concerned that they’ll run out of shelter space for the detained children. If that’s the case, some minors might be stuck in the type of facilities that become synonymous with the Trump administration’s family separation policy. According to The Journal, “Cells in Border Patrol facilities aren’t designed to house children and its agents aren’t trained to care for children.”
CBS News says the increasing volume of unaccompanied children, combined with a system already limited by pandemic safety requirements like social distancing, have officials concerned:
The uptick has alarmed government officials, shelter operators and advocates who are worried about their ability to address one of their chief shared concerns: children spending prolonged periods of time in Customs and Border Protection (CBP) facilities, most of which were designed to hold migrant adults. ”
We absolutely are concerned,” an HHS official who requested anonymity told CBS News. “We are assessing all of our options on the table to make sure we have the capacity to house kids and take care of them and make sure they’re not backed up in CBP custody.”
The Washington Post reports that the Biden administration is scrambling for solutions:
The Biden administration is so worried about running out of shelter space for teenagers and children who cross the border without their parents that shelters have been authorized to purchase airplane tickets and cover other transportation costs for minors whose relatives are already living in the United States, according to an email from the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Refugee Resettlement — which runs the shelters — that was obtained by The Post.
President Biden signed a series of executive orders related to immigration policy as soon as he took office. His stated goal was to restore the United States’ reputation as a “beacon for the globe.” However, many immigration advocates say the new administration is acting too slowly. As The Washington Post explains:
After barely a month in office, Biden is scrambling to explain to some Democrats that his “Day One” promises for a gentler immigration system will take more time with health and economic crises engulfing the United States.
The risks of an early political backlash for Biden are growing. Former president Donald Trump dispatched his deputies to the Hill on Wednesday to lobby against Biden’s immigration overhauls, and Trump plans to blast those changes in a speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference on Sunday.
