Border concerns: Federal government gets creative with where to house unaccompanied minors, migrant families
A Border Patrol truck next to the U.S. - Mexico border wall. (file)
ALAMO, Texas - Concerns over the influx of migrants crossing into the U.S. from the southern border continue to grow.
In February alone, more than 9,000 migrant children crossed the border without their parents, leading to new fears of a growing humanitarian crisis along the Rio Grande.
On March 16, the Department of Homeland Security addressed the problem.
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas released a statement, saying they're working around the clock to address problems and plan to open additional facilities in Texas and in Arizona to house unaccompanied minors.
The surge at the southern border is intensifying, with Homeland Security now saying we're on track to encounter more migrants than in the last 20 years.
The Biden administration is defending its extension of a Trump-era policy, expelling single adults and families, citing the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, but it's also allowing unaccompanied minors to stay in the United States.
Now the administration is being forced to get creative as housing gets scarce -- converting the Dallas Convention Center into a temporary shelter for migrant teens.
The administration is also being criticized by some Democrats for holding the children longer than the 72 hours allowed under the law, but they say they're doing their best to find space in shelters run by the Health and Human Services Department.
"We want to expedite getting these kids out of these CBP facilities... And into shelters as quickly as possible, then into sponsored homes," said Jen Psaki, White House Press Secretary.
Agents say they're also encountering large groups of migrants traveling together, hoping the mini-caravans will offer some protection from criminals as they make their way north.
"It is very difficult, especially when you run out of money. We brought money with us but they rob you," stated Ramona Aristides through a translator.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials say the number of unaccompanied minors crossing the border illegally has gone up some 60% in just the last month.
Meanwhile, House Minority Leader McCarthy led a delegation to the southern border on March 15, where he and a dozen other house members expressed sadness and concern over what they call a crisis of President Biden's making.
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