As the Biden administration decided towards more lax immigration policies, a new challenge has risen-unaccompanied minors who cross the US-Mexico border. During the Trump administration, roughly 9,000 unaccompanied children have turned away.
Yet, more than could be expected are crossing the borders. More than 9,000 unaccompanied children, a record-high for the past 20 years, are in the custody of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' refugee office.
The HHS manages government shelters for unaccompanied minors. While most children crossing the borders are teenagers, hundreds of unaccompanied kids are under 12 years old, Reuters reported.
Challenges of Not Turning Away Unaccompanied Minors at the Borders
The Biden administration kept the southern border closed, but for humanitarian reasons, decided not to turn its back against children who crossed the southern border without their parents or guardians. But this decision came with multiple challenges, including children being held by the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) for more than a 72-hour limit.
Now, both the HHS shelters and CBP detention centers are overcrowded with unaccompanied children. A lawyer visiting the CBP facility in Donna, Texas, reported that children as young as one stay at the facility, which was "vastly over its capacity," with children sleeping on the floor, some on metal benches.
As such, the Biden administration is set to open emergency facilities for the migrant children, CBS News reported. However, there are only six facilities, yet there are over 16,000 migrant children in U.S. custody. Plus, the Border Patrol continues to encounter more than 500 unaccompanied children every day.
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Migrant Children Wish to Reunite with Parents
Some of the migrant children entering the borders do not even have a physical memory of their parents. Such children have been left either at birth or while they were still young. Some of the youngest children crossing the borders were found to be only five years old, Yahoo News reported. In few cases, their parents emigrated first, and now the children cross the southern border to reunite with their family.
An estimated two-thirds of the unaccompanied minors are from Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador. One-third comes from Mexico. CBP revealed that the children crossed via Rio Grande Valley in Texas.
Biden noted that the increase in migrants crossing borders is not because he is seen as "the nice guy," but rather because of the dire circumstances-children escaping violence and poverty in their country or to reunite with their parents. Furthermore, 2020 also saw many people in Central America affected by hurricanes and pandemic-struck economies.
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Plans to Alleviate Increase of Unaccompanied Migrant Children
The new administration is starting joint processing centers to ensure the prompt transfer of the unaccompanied minors from CBP detention centers into HHS custody. Apart from the emergency shelters, the Dallas convention center is also set to house around 3,000 migrant teenage boys. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) will also help transport and shelter children.
The Biden administration is also set to create programs to allow Central Americans application for refugee status. In particular, migrant children whose parents are lawfully living in the U.S. may apply for refugee settlement.
Further, the U.S. may also help improve conditions in the home countries of these children. Biden is pushing for a $4 billion budget for Central America to help alleviate crime and poverty in the children's home countries. These were the driving factors that led to an increase in illegal immigration.
