So far this year, CBP has encountered 91,380 unaccompanied children.
The number of unaccompanied children apprehended or placed into the custody of the Health and Human Services Department nearly doubled in just a matter of days, from 194 to 348 in the span of a week.
The Department of Health and Human Services is required under law to provide care to such children until they are released to relatives or sponsors in the U.S. Of the 91,380 encountered so far this year, as of Wednesday there were 6,632 in the department’s custody.
From the time of their apprehension, Customs and Border Protection has 72 hours to transfer custody of the children to the HHS’ Office of Refugee Resettlement to be housed in facilities designed to accommodate the needs of children.
Some have expressed concerns over the way Customs and Border Protection officials crunch data so that the information is not accurate. Under current tabulation methods, the Department of Homeland Security said unlawful border crossings in general have decreased.
At a congressional hearing last month, Representative Clay Higgins of Louisiana said, “To reclassify illegal entry as those that have entered by a legal pathway and then tell the American people, ‘the numbers are way down; we have this thing under control.’ This is misleading by design.”
As the Lord Leads, Pray with Us…
- For Secretary Becerra to seek God’s guidance as his department processes the unaccompanied minors.
- For Customs and Border Protection agents as they apprehend and transfer the children to HHS’ care.
- For members of Congress as they work on immigration reforms.
Sources: NewsNation, VOA
