Arab Press

بالشعب و للشعب
Friday, Jun 20, 2025

US Border Officials Are Holding 5,000 Unaccompanied Children In Custody

US Border Officials Are Holding 5,000 Unaccompanied Children In Custody

It is the latest sign that the number of children arriving at the border is continuing to rise.
US border officials held more than 5,000 unaccompanied immigrant children in their custody at the end of this week, according to government data reviewed by BuzzFeed News, the latest sign that the number of children arriving at the border is continuing to rise.

The Biden administration has struggled to quickly transfer children out of US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) custody and into shelters and centers operated by the Health and Human Services Department (HHS).

Many of the children have been in CBP stations and facilities for longer than 72 hours, which is the government mandated limit for children in custody. In the past several weeks, administration officials have scrambled to increase shelter capacity as an effort to cut the overcrowding in border patrol custody.

Earlier this week, HHS opened an emergency intake site specifically for minors at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center. The new center aims to place children in a setting more designed to their needs, according to government officials. The decision came just a few days after the agency opened up a separate emergency site in Midland, Texas.

HHS officials were opening a new site as well, they revealed on Saturday. The agency will open the Target Lodge Pecos North property as an “influx care facility” for children — it can hold around 500 children, and can expand to accommodate 2,000.

On Friday, a bipartisan group of US senators visited border facilities along with Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.

“Just met with four teenagers who made the long journey to America - one all the way from Chile; another fleeing a violent home - to seek a better life. They looked exhausted, hopeful. Remember, each “unaccompanied minor” is a human being with a story,” tweeted Democratic Senator Chris Murphy.

“Just left the border processing facility. 100s of kids packed into big open rooms. In a corner, I fought back tears as a 13 yr old girl sobbbed uncontrollably explaining thru a translator how terrified she was, having been separated from her grandmother and without her parents,” he later added.

US officials have been unable to keep up with the increase in unaccompanied children at the border as they attempt to discharge them to shelters and facilities run by HHS, which are also strapped for beds. The border situation has become the latest challenge to President Joe Biden’s efforts to undo immigration policies set by his predecessor.

While the administration continues to turn back most immigrants at the southern border under Title 42, a Trump-era order that cited the threat of coronavirus spread, unaccompanied children have been the exception.

"We are on pace to encounter more individuals on the southwest border than we have in the last 20 years. We are expelling most single adults and families. We are not expelling unaccompanied children," Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said in a statement on Tuesday.

He added that they were encountering many children at the border, including "six- and seven-year-old children, for example, arriving at our border without an adult."

Unaccompanied children from Central America who are picked up by Border Patrol agents are typically sent to the Office of Refugee Resettlement, where they are housed in shelters across the country as they begin officially applying for asylum and wait to be reunited with family members in the US.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Arab Press
0:00
0:00
Close
16 Billion Login Credentials Leaked in Unprecedented Cybersecurity Breach
Senate hearing on who was 'really running' Biden White House kicks off
G7 Leaders Fail to Reach Consensus on Key Global Issues
Mass exodus in Tehran as millions try to flee following Trump’s evacuation order
Iranian Military Officers Reportedly Seek Contact with Reza Pahlavi, Signal Intent to Defect
China's Iranian Oil Imports Face Disruption Amid Escalating Middle East Tensions
Trump Demands Iran's Unconditional Surrender Amid Escalating Conflict
Israeli Airstrike Targets Iranian State TV in Central Tehran
President Trump is leaving the G7 summit early and has ordered the National Security Council to the Situation Room
Netanyahu Signals Potential Regime Change in Iran
Analysts Warn Iran May Resort to Unconventional Warfare
Iranian Regime Faces Existential Threat Amid Conflict
Energy Infrastructure Becomes War Zone in Middle East
Iran Conducts Ballistic Missile Launches Amid Heightened Tensions with Israel
Iran Signals Openness to Nuclear Negotiations Amid Ongoing Regional Tensions
Shock Within Iran’s Leadership: Khamenei’s Failed Plan to Launch 1,000 Missiles Against Israel
UK Deploys Jets to Middle East Amid Rising Tensions
Exiled Iranian Prince Reza Pahlavi Urges Overthrow of Khamenei Regime
Wreck of $17 Billion San José Galleon Identified Off Colombia After 300 Years
Iran Launches Extensive Missile Attack on Israel Following Israeli Strikes on Nuclear Sites
Israel Issues Ultimatum to Iran Over Potential Retaliation and Nuclear Facilities
Coinbase CEO Warns Bitcoin Could Supplant US Dollar Amid Mounting National Debt
Trump to Iran: Make a Deal — Sign or Die
Operation "Like a Lion": Israel Strikes Iran in Unprecedented Offensive
Israel Launches 'Operation Rising Lion' Targeting Iranian Nuclear and Military Sites
Israeli Forces Intercept Gaza-Bound Aid Vessel Carrying Greta Thunberg
IMF Warns of Severe Global Trade War Impacts on Emerging Markets
Syria to Reconnect to Global Economy After 14 Years of Isolation
Saudi Arabia Faces Uncertainty Over Succession After Mohammed bin Salman
Israel Confirms Arming Gaza Clan to Counter Hamas Influence
Majority of French Voters View Macron's Presidency as a Failure
U.S. Reduces Military Presence in Syria
Trump Demands Iran End All Uranium Enrichment in Nuclear Talks
Iran Warns Europe Against Politicizing UN Nuclear Report
Businessman Mauled by Lion at Luxury Namibian Lodge
Paris Saint-Germain's Greatest Triumph Is Football’s Lowest Point
OPEC+ Agrees to Increase Oil Output for Third Consecutive Month
Turkey Detains Istanbul Officials Amid Anti-Corruption Crackdown
Meta and Anduril Collaborate on AI-Driven Military Augmented Reality Systems
EU Central Bank Pushes to Replace US Dollar with Euro as World’s Main Currency
European and Arab Ministers Convene in Madrid to Address Gaza Conflict
Head of Gaza Aid Group Resigns Amid Humanitarian Concerns
U.S. Health Secretary Ends Select COVID-19 Vaccine Recommendations
Trump Warns Putin Is 'Playing with Fire' Amid Escalating Ukraine Conflict
India and Pakistan Engage Trump-Linked Lobbyists to Influence U.S. Policy
U.S. Halts New Student Visa Interviews Amid Enhanced Security Measures
Trump Administration Cancels $100 Million in Federal Contracts with Harvard
SpaceX Starship Test Flight Ends in Failure, Mars Mission Timeline Uncertain
King Charles Affirms Canadian Sovereignty Amid U.S. Statehood Pressure
Iranian Revolutionary Guard Founder Warns Against Trusting Regime in Nuclear Talks
×