50% of those caught at border are families, unaccompanied children
While the type of people being apprehended along the 1,950-mile-long U.S.-Mexico border has varied over the years, throughout the 1990s and early 2000s, those apprehended were mostly adult men from Mexico seeking work.
That has since changed, however. Now, approximately half of all those being caught are families and unaccompanied children from Central American countries who are seeking asylum in the U.S.
Speaking with a group of reporters during a phone call on March 26, a senior U.S. Customs and Border Security official stated that the number of illegal entrants being apprehended each day along southwestern border has even surpassed the number that Border Patrol agents saw during the height of the 2019 crisis.
According to CBP statistics, 2,931 family units have been taken into custody in the Yuma Sector Border Patrol’s area of responsibility since the start of the fiscal year in October, which is a 34 percent increase over the 2,184 apprehended during the same period in 2019.
As for unaccompanied children, Yuma Sector Border Patrol agents have apprehended 945 so far this fiscal year, compared to 464 in 2019, which is a 104 percent increase.
On average nationally, U.S. Border Patrol agents have been encountering 337 unaccompanied children a day throughout the month of February.
CBP statistics also indicated that 5,824 single adults have been arrested in the Yuma Sector since February, which represents a 324 percent increase over the 1,335 from last year.
A breakdown of unaccompanied children by country shows that a majority are coming from Guatemala, with 10,051 being apprehended across the entire southwest border.
Mexico was second with 9,508, followed by Honduras with 6,071 and El Salvador with 2,185. All of the numbers surpassed the previous year’s totals.
As for family units
apprehended across the southwest border, Honduras led the way with 14,108, followed by Guatemala’s 7,132, Mexico’s 5,161 and El Salvador’s 3,665. Those numbers also surpassed the prior year.
Most of the single adults being apprehended are still coming from Mexico, with 187,218 being apprehended so far this fiscal year.
Guatemala is the next closest at 46,685, which is slightly higher than Honduras’ 36,592. A total of 13,632 were from El Salvador.
Statistics are not available for individual sectors.
This latest surge of asylum-seeking migrants has put a strain on CBP’s detention capacity, with officials saying they can’t accommodate what has been happening.
While most families apprehended at the southwest border are currently being deported, Border Patrol agents are encountering unaccompanied children every day, some as young as six and seven years old.
As a result, there are thousands of children and families still in Border Patrol custody, many of whom are being held well beyond the legal limit in facilities that are not equipped for them.
According to the Department of Homeland Security, as CBP works to build and improve permanent facilities for the safe and orderly processing of individuals at the border, temporary soft-sided facilities are sometimes necessary to meet operational needs that may arise due to specific situations.
“Border Patrol stations are not meant to hold children long-term,” DHS wrote in a statement. “When a child presents themselves at the border, CBP puts the child at the front of the line for processing – in front of single adults, in front of family units.”
Yuma Mayor Mayor
Douglas Nicholls confirmed earlier in March that one such facility will be built in Yuma, within the compound of the Yuma Sector Border Patrol headquarters, adding that it will be similar to the massive tent facility erected there in June 2019.
All unaccompanied children are taken to Border Patrol facilities, where they are required to be processed and transferred to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) within 72-hours of their apprehension.
HHS then holds the child for testing and quarantine, and shelters the child until the child is placed with a sponsor here in the United States, which is typically a family member already living here.
DHS also wrote that Border Patrol’s ability to move children out of its care is directly related to how much space HHS currently has available.
This has led to a situation where Border Patrol has had to release family units into the community.
While DHS did not specify how many family units have been released, it did write that Border Patrol does not have the legal authority to provide or ensure transportation for anyone who has been processed for release.
Border Patrol, however, will make sure that the release of anyone from its custody is done safely while also ensuring it is done in accordance with the law.
If the Border Patrol determines that a release directly from one of its facilities is not safe, it will identify alternative locations in close proximity, which may include transportation hubs and non-governmental organizations.
While the Yuma Sector Border Patrol cannot accept donations, DHS recommends that Yuma-area residents who would like to donate food, hygiene products and other such items to reach out to charities and shelters to do so.