Customs and Border Protection has more than 5,000 unaccompanied children in custody, compared with fewer than 4,500 a few days ago. This is evident from the agency’s records, which have been verified by CNN.
Why it matters: The number of unaccompanied children crossing the border is expected to increase exponentially this spring, which is likely to put further strain on the resources needed to house the children and create a crisis for the Biden government.
By the numbers: A CBP official told senior administrators last month that the agency is forecasting a peak of 13,000 unaccompanied children crossing the border in May, Axios’ Stef Kight reports.
- President Biden was also briefed in March of the need for 20,000 beds to protect the expected surge in migrant children.
The big picture: Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said this week that the US is well on track to meet more people on the US-Mexico border “than we have in the past 20 years” amid poverty , Violence and corruption in Mexico and the Central American countries forcing people north hoping for a better life.
- In an interview with ABC News this week, Biden told Central American people to stay in their “town or town” instead of coming to the US.
- “I can say very clearly: don’t come over,” said the president.
Go deeper: Swing voters are concerned about the gathering of migrant children
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