Immigrants in New York ask for equality in aid 3:29
(CNN) - The
United States is on track to meet more than 2 million migrants at the border with Mexico by the end of the fiscal year, according to internal government estimates reviewed by CNN that set a record.
Projections may be subject to change in the event of policy modifications or other changes in Latin America.
The U.S. Border Patrol encounters are also expected to be largely made up of single adults, who are turned away at the southern U.S. border as soon as they come under a public health order and As a result, they could also count as repeated crosses.
But combined, the data, based on preliminary reports this month, illustrate the continuing challenge for the Biden administration, which has already faced a number of obstacles at the U.S.-Mexico border, particularly with unaccompanied minors and migrant families. .
Data reviewed by CNN shows that up to 1.1 million single adults are expected through September, along with about 828,000 families and more than 200,000 unaccompanied minors.
Border Patrol encounters are expected to continue to increase month by month, based on projections, which may vary.
The last time Border Patrol apprehensions exceeded one million was in fiscal 2006, according to publicly available data from Customs and Border Protection.
Border Patrol arrests also increased during the 2019 border crisis, but did not reach 900,000.
Mid-March rebound
Border Patrol Deputy Director Raúl Ortiz told reporters Tuesday that the agency expects to encounter more than a million migrants this fiscal year.
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National Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas also warned of the rebound in mid-March, saying: “We are on our way to meet more people on the southwestern border than in the last 20 years.
We are expelling most single adults and families.
We are not expelling unaccompanied minors. '
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CNN contacted the Department of Homeland Security.
Customs and Border Protection noted Ortiz's comments.
It is difficult to compare the current situation with that of recent years due to drastically different circumstances, partly related to the coronavirus pandemic.
There are several factors at play, including deteriorating conditions in Latin America, pent-up demand to enter the US, and a perceived relaxation of law enforcement under President Joe Biden, which are driving migrants to the bordering on what appears to be a fast pace.
The administration also relies on a public health law known as Title 42 that was invoked under former President Donald Trump and allows border authorities to return migrants found on the U.S.-Mexico border, either to Mexico or their country. originally.
Unaccompanied minors are not subject to the policy.
Fluctuations in migration flows
These projections could also include a large number of people crossing the border two or more times.
In February, about 25% of people found at the border had crossed more than once, up from 7% for the entire fiscal year 2019, the most recent annual data available.
“We are seeing higher than usual recidivism rates as a result of covid protocols.
Therefore, the number of encounters, while impacting our Border Patrol operations, may also appear to exaggerate the migratory flows that we are seeing, ”a Customs and Border Protection official said earlier this month.
In his first press conference, Biden noted that fluctuations in migration flows are common.
“It happens every year: there is a significant increase in the number of people arriving at the border in the winter months of January, February, March.
That happens every year, "he said.
Conversations with Mexico
Biden also said his administration is in talks with Mexico to have the country host migrant families expelled by the United States under policy related to the pandemic, indicating the pressure the United States is exerting on Mexico to help stem the flow of migration to the United States.
«Mexico refuses to accept them.
They say they won't accept them, not all of them, ”Biden said, when asked why some families were not being returned.
«We are in negotiations with the president of Mexico.
I think we will see that change.
Everyone should go back.
They will all return.
The only people we are not going to leave sitting there on the other side of the Rio Grande by themselves without help are minors.
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Families from Mexico and the Northern Triangle countries are sent back to Mexico unless the country does not have the capacity to receive them, the Department of Homeland Security said in a statement this month.
If Mexico does not accept the families, they are processed in the United States.
Measures taken in conjunction with Mexico and other Latin American countries could help the administration as it faces a steady influx of migrants.
But it is still likely to be a pressing challenge for officials, as evidenced by the growing number of minors.
Department of Health and Human Services Facilities
PHOTOS |
Look inside two types of border facilities for unaccompanied immigrant minors
In recent days, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), which is in charge of the care of migrant minors, announced a series of new facilities, relying on convention centers, military sites and influx shelters to accommodate the minors.
But even when those beds are found, more minors are found every day along the border, creating overcrowding at border facilities.
“What bogs us down is the fact that we have to take care of 1,200 minors.
We finished.
We have already completed the Border Patrol process, so if HHS could get these minors off our hands, then it would be better for all of us, "the acting director of the Rio Grande Valley Operational Programs Division told reporters on Tuesday. Oscar Escamilla, during a tour of a temporary border facility.
We're not in the detention business.
We are forced to go into business because we cannot give them to anyone, "he added.
CNN's Geneva Sands contributed to this report.
Mexico-US border.
