Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Surge in migrants at southern border
An influx of children and families seeking to cross the U.S. southwest border creates a challenge for Biden.
WASHINGTON — The number of migrant children and families seeking to cross the U.S.-Mexico border has surged to levels not seen since before the coronavirus pandemic, a challenge for President Joe Biden as he works to undo the restrictive immigration policies of his predecessor.
Statistics released Wednesday by U.S. Customs and Border Protection showed the number of children and families increased by more than 100% between January and February. Kids crossing by themselves rose 60% to more than 9,400, forcing the government to look for new places to hold them temporarily.
The surge has been seized on by Republicans and former President Donald Trump as a line of attack on Biden, though his administration is turning back nearly all single adults, who make up the majority of border-crossers, under a public health order imposed at the start of the pandemic.
The Biden administration is temporarily holding children and families, mostly from Central America, in government and private facilities for several days while it evaluates claims for asylum or determines if they have any other legal right to stay in the country.
It is a challenge for an administration that has been working to restore an asylum system largely dismantled under Trump and likely to face increasing pressure.
Factors driving the increase include widespread hunger in Central America due to recent hurricanes, the economic upheaval of the pandemic and more fundamental social problems dating back years.
Republicans have argued that migrants are drawn by incentives such as the immigration bill backed by Biden and many Democrats that would offer a path to citizenship for millions of people illegally in the country.
“We’re seeing a surge of unaccompanied children coming across the border. Why? Joe Biden promised amnesty,” Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, said in a tweet.
There were nearly 29,000 families or unaccompanied minors combined in February. The last time it was higher was in October 2019.
The total number of people encountered by Customs and Border Protection was up 28% from January, but many of them are migrants who were recently turned back and are trying again.
Biden officials have faced mounting questions about the temporary detention of migrant families, an issue that the two previous presidents had to deal with because of the instability in the region. The new administration is seeking to craft a softer approach.
Roberta Jacobson, Biden’s senior official for southwest border affairs and a former U.S. ambassador to Mexico, said the administration is asking Congress for $4 billion for targeted aid to nonprofit and community organizations in Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala to try to ease some of the conditions that cause people to flee their homelands.
“Only by addressing those root causes can we break the cycle of desperation and provide hope for families who clearly would prefer to stay in their countries and provide a better future for their children,” she told reporters at the White House.