A record number of migrant kids are in Border Patrol custody

A border patrol facility.
(Image credit: Paul Ratje/AFP via Getty Images)

As of Monday, more than 3,200 unaccompanied migrant children are in Customs and Border Protection custody, held in facilities that are intended for adults, CNN reports.

According to agency documents reviewed by CNN on Monday, about 2,600 kids are waiting to be sent to shelters run by the Department of Health and Human Services. Due to social distancing measures put in place because of the coronavirus pandemic, there are only 500 beds available. Under the law, migrant kids must be transferred from Border Patrol custody to HHS within 72 hours, so they can get a case manager and attempts can be made to reunite them with family or a sponsor.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us
Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.