There is a lot of misinformation around what is happening at the border. Here are the facts.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection has attributed the increase in arrests in part to instability in homelands, exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic and the perception of immediate shifts in U.S. immigration policy.

The pandemic took a dramatic toll on Latin America, where Covid-19 cases and deaths skyrocketed, and economies were first predicted to grow. The region was also hit by two devastating hurricanes. The decline in economic growth in 2020, according to the Congressional Research Service, is expected to exacerbate income equality and poverty in the region.

Administration officials have urged migrants not to come to the U.S., arguing that changes to the U.S. immigration system will take time to make. “They have to wait. It takes time to rebuild the system,” Homeland Security Minister Alejandro Mayorkas said on Monday.

Who crosses the border?

Most border crossings since October are single adults, many of whom are from Mexico. In January, the U.S. Border Patrol reportedly arrested more than 75,000 migrants at the southern border, according to the latest data. Of these, single adults made about 62,000 arrests.

But the increase from month to month is remarkable because there is usually a drop between December and January due to the holidays. This is especially worrying among families and unaccompanied children.

On average, the U.S. Border Patrol has arrested about 340 children over the past 21 days, crossing the U.S.-Mexico border alone, according to internal documents checked by CNN.

Border Patrol officers are the first to come into contact with children crossing the U.S. border alone. After escorted children are arrested, unaccompanied children are transferred to the Department of Health and Human Services.

There are approximately 7,700 unaccompanied children in HHS care. The department has about 13,650 beds to accommodate children if they are not under capacity.

In 2019, the Trump administration encountered a large number of children and families on the U.S.-Mexico border that overwhelmed facilities. Although it is difficult to compare today’s arrests with those of recent years due to the drastically different circumstances due to the pandemic, the increasing trend of children has raised concerns.

In January 2019, the year there were border crossings, the Border Patrol encountered approximately 5,100 children without escort. This past January, Border Patrol arrested about 5,700 children who crossed the border alone.

“The numbers are very high. It’s not the highest ever, but it’s particularly high for this time of year,” said Mark Greenberg, a senior fellow at the Migration Policy Institute and former health and human services officer. said. “There is a certain seasonal variation and usually the numbers are higher in spring than in winter. It is therefore unusual to see such high numbers in February.”

What does Biden do differently than Trump regarding children?

The numbers of children entering U.S. custody may seem higher than compared to last year because the Trump administration has subjected children crossing the U.S.-Mexico border alone to a policy that could quickly remove migration.

The Biden government has said it will not happen, meaning the minor minors in the US will be turned away instead.

How does the Biden administration treat other migrants?

Other migrants, such as most families and single adults, can still be removed immediately, with a few exceptions.

In a Trump-era detention, individuals illegally crossing the U.S.-Mexico border could be expelled from the United States quickly, with little effect under a public health order imposed in March last year. This has led to single adults trying to cross several times.

What does US law say about children in custody?

After being escorted unaccompanied by the border patrol, they must be transferred within 72 hours to the Department of Health and Human Services, which has the supervision of migrant children, except in exceptional circumstances.

Once in care, case managers will work to place children with a sponsor, such as a parent or family member, in the U.S., but due to the coronavirus pandemic and precautions to prevent the spread of Covid-19, the department only able to use a little more than half of the beds it has for children.

CNN reported this week that the average time in border patrol facilities, which are not designed to hold children, was 77 hours, longer than the 72 allowed under U.S. law.

Where are children kept?

HHS has an extensive shelter network nationwide equipped to care for children until they can be placed with the family in the United States. These shelters are separate from Border Patrol facilities, which are not intended to house children, and have been used under previous administrations.

Shelters operate under reduced capacity to provide for Covid-19 precautions. But on Friday, the Biden government notified facilities caring for migrant children that they could reopen to Covid-19 levels, recognizing ‘extraordinary circumstances’ due to an increasing number of minors crossing the U.S.-Mexico border . acquired by CNN.

HHS also recently opened an overflow facility in Texas to house children arriving at the U.S. Southern border without a parent or family member.

“In the meantime, we need to find facilities and places where these unaccompanied minors can be safe and humane,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters on Friday.

What other facilities are being considered?

HHS also conducted a site survey in Fort Lee, Virginia to determine if there are facilities “suitable for temporary housing for unaccompanied children” that cross the border, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said Friday.

Kirby said a formal request from HHS has not yet been sent to the Department of Defense. He also said the department has housed unaccompanied children in the past, citing a time when HHS asked for similar help in 2012 and 2017.

If the request went through, children would be under the supervision of HHS, and the Pentagon would simply provide the space for housing, Kirby added.

“The children would be housed in the facilities, usually basic housing there, not only for families, but also barracks, and they are under the responsibility and care of HHS. The department’s task is to fully compensate the space. , ”Kirby said.

Ellie Kaufman of CNN contributed to this report.

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