The United States expects to reach 184,000 immigrant children on the border with Mexico this year USA
Washington. US border officials estimate that as many as 184,000 unaccompanied migrant children may arrive at the US-Mexico border this year, according to internal government data reviewed by Reuters.
The appreciation highlights the growing challenge for President Joe Biden, whose administration is struggling to house a growing number of children, most of them Central America, who arrive at the border without a parent or legal guardian.
Main characters and context. An internal US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) document indicates that between 159,000 and 184,000 unaccompanied children could reach the southwestern border in fiscal year 2021, which began October 1, 2020.
If the estimate is accurate, it would be higher than in any other year recorded since 2010, when CBP began fully tracking arrests of unaccompanied children, the classification given to young people who may have arrived alone, with smugglers.
The second-highest annual total during the peak of 2019 came under the administration of former President Donald Trump. During that fiscal year, nearly 76,000 unaccompanied children were detained at the border.
The Bureau of Customs and Border Protection estimates that about 15,000 unaccompanied children arrived at the US-Mexico border in March. The figure is based on data as of March 19, and official statistics are not expected to be available until early April.
The Bureau of Customs and Border Protection estimates that about 15,000 unaccompanied children arrived at the US-Mexico border in March. The figure is based on data as of March 19, and official statistics are not expected to be available until early April.
If the estimate is accurate, these 15,000 expats would be the highest monthly total since 2010.
The previous peak was in May 2019, when some 11,500 unaccompanied children were detained.
The Customs and Border Protection office estimates that four times the number of unaccompanied children could be detained in government-run shelters by September.
The shelter system, overseen by the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), had just over 12,000 children in detention as of March 29.
The number could rise to 53,000 in September, which would require HHS to add tens of thousands of extra accommodation beds, according to an internal estimate.
The new CBP estimate comes with a few caveats.
The estimate excludes Mexican children, most of whom can quickly return to Mexico under a bilateral agreement.
The projections also assume that the Biden administration will not change its policies toward unaccompanied minors, as the new policies may lead to different estimates.
The Customs and Border Protection office and the Department of Health and Human Services’ refugee office did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
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