DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas: ‘Loving Parents’ Sending Children Alone to U.S.-Mexico Border

Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas says, “loving parents” in Central America are sending their children, alone, to the United States-Mexico border.

During a press briefing on Monday, Mayorkas said Unaccompanied Alien Children (UACs) are being sent to the U.S. via an often deadly journey through Mexico by their “loving parents.”

“We are not apprehending a 9-year-old child, who has come alone, who has traversed Mexico, whose parents … whose loving parents sent that child alone, we’re not expelling that 9-year-old child to Mexico when that child’s country of origin was Guatemala, Honduras, or El Salvador,” Mayorkas said.

Mayorkas said DHS officials, along with the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), are attempting to release UACs into the U.S. interior as quickly as possible.

According to the U.S. Border Patrol union, President Joe Biden’s DHS has been holding hundreds of UACs in their custody longer than the legal limit. The law requires that UACs be moved to another federal agency within 72 hours.

Last week, Border Patrol officials apprehended more than 500 border crossers in a single day — many of which were UACs. Last month, Border Patrol apprehended nearly 6,000 UACs, and some 13,000 UACs are expected to reach the U.S.-Mexico border in May.

As Breitbart News reported, UACs arriving from Central America have a 95 percent chance of remaining in the U.S. after their arrival, DHS data has revealed.

From 2013 to early 2020, 315,582 UACs from Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador were encountered at the U.S.-Mexico border. About 300,900, or more than 95 percent, have “no confirmed departure” from the U.S., indicating they remain living in the U.S. while continuing to be processed, failing to voluntarily deport, or having been granted immigration relief.

The UAC program, as Breitbart News has chronicled, has delivered large populations mostly from Central America to states like New York, New Jersey, Texas, California, Florida, Virginia, and Maryland. Since former President Donald Trump took office, more than 165,000 UACs have been released into the interior of the U.S.

John Binder is a reporter for Breitbart News. Email him at jbinder@breitbart.com. Follow him on Twitter here.