By Julia Ainsley - NBC News
More than 18,500 children crossed the border alone in March, according to preliminary data from Customs and Border Protection obtained by NBC News.
This figure represents a new record, while the Government of Joe Biden is rushing to equip new shelters to accommodate them while putting them in the hands of host families.
That figure is at least
60% higher than the previous record
of 11,494 recorded in May 2019. The data is still preliminary and may change slightly before its official release.
The registry began in 2010, so it cannot be compared with years prior to that date.
The dramatic increase in the arrival of unaccompanied children
coincides with the change in policy of the Biden administration,
which continues to expel immigrants who arrive at the border under a measure imposed by former President Donald Trump in 2020 at the beginning of the pandemic. of coronavirus, but has decided instead to allow the entry of minors who cross alone.
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The total number of immigrants intercepted at the border in March amounted to more than 170,000, the record for the past 20 years, according to that preliminary data.
Most adults, however, were turned away under Title 42, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) measure that blocks immigration during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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The previous maximum was set in March 2001, when the Border Patrol detained 172,849 migrants.
The Secretary of Homeland Security, Alejandro Mayorkas, already said recently that the Border Patrol was on track to reach a maximum of 20 years at border crossings.
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"The truth of the matter is:
nothing has changed
," however Biden said at a news conference last week.
"It happens each and every year. There is a significant increase in the number of people arriving at the border in the winter months of January, February and March. That happens every year," he added.
The number of families who crossed the border in March was
more than 52,000, still below the record of 84,526
set in May 2019 under the Trump Administration.
While many families are sent back under Title 42, a growing number, especially in the Rio Grande Valley, are allowed to stay while they await a court decision on their immigration case due to Mexico's limited ability to accept them. back.
