ICE will also process migrant families in response to overcrowding at Border Patrol centers.

By Julia Ainsley - NBC News

The growing number of migrant families who have crossed the border into Mexico in recent weeks has caused overcrowding at Border Patrol (CBP) centers, so many of those families will now be transferred to the custody of the Immigration and Control Service. Customs (ICE), confirmed two senior officials from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

From there, the families will be released with ankle monitors and an appointment to appear in court and present their asylum case, or be accommodated on deportation flights, officials said.

As of Saturday, CBP's processing facilities were 585% over capacity.

In the Rio Grande Valley, the busiest sector for border crossings, there were 6,671 migrants detained in facilities designed for just 965 people, according to one of the officials.

This has led to

the spread of COVID-19, as well as other viruses and lice.

To deal with overcrowding and try to create more space, CBP has been releasing undocumented immigrant families in the United States without court dates or any way to trace their whereabouts.

A group of migrants is processed by the Border Patrol after crossing from Mexico to the United States in Penitas, Texas, on July 8, 2021. AFP via Getty Images

More than 50,000 migrants were recently released without a court date and given an appointment to report to an ICE office within 60 days, but about 15,000 did not show up, DHS officials said.

In an unprecedented move, ICE, an agency usually charged with arresting and removing immigrants and undocumented individuals, will be tasked with conducting health screenings, offering coronavirus vaccines, informing migrants of their legal rights, and connecting them with non-governmental organizations. governments that can help them, officials said.

Dozens of immigrants are quarantined in a border hotel after catching COVID-19

July 28, 202101: 41

No spokespersons for ICE, CBP or DHS immediately responded to a request for comment Saturday night.

The Biden Administration has come under scrutiny for its handling of migrant families during the pandemic.

A number of pro-immigrant groups have argued in a lawsuit that the Trump-initiated policy known as Title 42, under which immigrants are being sent back to Mexico before they can file for asylum should be lifted for the families

Meanwhile, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, a Republican, recently requested an injunction to make Title 42 more widely enforced.

Unaccompanied children, some single adults, and the vast majority of families are not currently being expelled under Title 42, in part because Mexico refuses to accept many of those families back.