Federal agents expect to see 13,000 unaccompanied migrant children arrive on the U.S.-Mexico border in May, which is more than any month during the 2019 humanitarian crisis, according to a report.
Customs and Border Protection took into its custody 5,900 children who showed up at the southern border in January without a parent or guardian, less than half of the number of children it believes is coming, according to Axios. In May 2019, CBP took more than 11,400 solo children into its custody.
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The agency is already struggling to hold minors in its custody because its holding stations are not suited for children and coronavirus restrictions make it difficult to detain people safely.
CBP, which oversees the Border Patrol, is supposed to transfer all children to the Department of Health and Human Services within three days of taking custody of a child, but the agency is increasingly unable to do so because HHS does not have free beds to take in new children.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
CBP is looking at standing up several temporary facilities to hold children and families arriving at the border, a Department of Homeland Security official told the Washington Examiner on Thursday.
