News / Society

US disaster agency ordered to help with child migrant surge

Sunday, 14 March 2021 1:50 PM [ Last Update: Sunday, 14 March 2021 2:03 PM ]

Migrants from Central America are pictured at the Paso del Norte International Bridge after being deported from the United States in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico on March 11, 2021. (AFP photo)

A US agency that normally deals with major emergencies and natural disasters has been ordered to help care for a growing number of migrant children arriving at the US-Mexico border.

The Department of Homeland Security on Saturday announced that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) would "help receive, shelter and transport the children" for the next 90 days.

The decision is indicative of the scope of a growing humanitarian and political crisis for Democratic President Joe Biden, despite his administration’s move to reverse some of his Republican predecessor's harsh immigration policies.

After taking office in Jan., Biden has ordered the reunification of migrant children with their families, halted construction of the border wall and called for reviews of legal immigration programs terminated by Trump.

Republicans, however, have accused the president of ignoring the deteriorating crisis at the southern border caused by influx of migrants, mostly escaping violence in Central and Southern America.

The surge of arrivals at the border is putting pressure on processing systems with a record number of children - 3,200 - being held in US immigration facilities as of 8 March.

Video shows people being smuggled into US across Texas river

Immigration officials are now transferring unaccompanied minors found crossing the border to another federal agency, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

However, a dramatic increase in children arriving without parents or legal guardians has exceeded shelter capacity, which was previously reduced by 40% to limit the spread of the coronavirus.

DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said, "Our goal is to ensure that unaccompanied children are transferred to HHS as quickly as possible, consistent with legal requirements and in the best interest of the children.”

Many of the people who arrive are being held for more than three days after which they must be turned over to health officials who find homes for them while their immigration case is dealt with.

In January, 5,871 unaccompanied children crossed the border, up from 4,995 in December, show data from US Customs and Border Protection (CPB). According to a CBS News report, at least 7,000 migrant children entered the country in February.

Nearly 3,000 were arrested on average per day in January compared with an average of nearly 1,800 arrests in the same month last year.

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