The number of migrant children detained along the border has tripled in the past two weeks to more than 3,250, according to federal immigration agency documents obtained by The New York Times, and many of them have been detained in prisons for more than the three days permitted by law.
The problem with the administration is both the number of children crossing the border and what needs to be done with them once they are arrested. Under the law, children are supposed to be moved to shelters run by the Department of Health and Human Services, but due to the pandemic, shelters until last week limited the number of children they could accommodate.
The growing number of unaccompanied children is just one element of a growing problem at the border. Border agents encountered a migrant at the border about 78,000 times in January, more than double the rate at the same time a year ago and higher than any January in the previous decade.
Immigration authorities are expected to announce this week that there were close to 100,000 arrests, including meetings at port entrances, in February, according to people familiar with the latest agency data. Since March 1, border agents have captured an additional 19,000 migrants, including adults and children.