CNN: 3200 Migrant Children Held by Border Patrol Exceeds Trump-Era Peak

The Biden Administration shattered a Trump-era record with DHS officials holding 3,200 unaccompanied alien children in custody, CNN reports. The detention of these minors shatters the 2,600 children held at the peak of the 2019 migrant surge. Many are being held beyond the 72-hour limit in facilities designed to hold large groups of adults.

CNN reviewed leaked U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) internal documents dated March 8, showing Border Patrol officials held 3,200 unaccompanied migrant children in their facilities. The agents apprehended the children after they illegally crossed the border without a parent.

The children are being held in jail-like cells that are not designed for children, CNN reported. Border Patrol is unable to release the children to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) due to the overcrowding in Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) long-term shelters. Many are being held long past the 72-hour court-imposed deadline to transfer the children out of Border Patrol custody.

The 3,200 children being held in Border Patrol cells more than doubles the number held less than one week ago, the article states.

Despite the urgent nature of a visit to the border by Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas that banned media coverage, President Joe Biden has not been briefed on the trip. Officials said the president is expected to be briefed in the coming days.

The 3,200 migrant children in Border Patrol custody shattered a record set during the Trump administration. As migrants surged across the border in 2019, the number of children held by Border Patrol without a parent peaked at 2,600, a former CBP officials told CNN.

The Biden Administration ended COVID protocols for unaccompanied minors last week when it ordered HHS shelters can open bed spaces up to pre-COVID levels.