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The last three presidents have had to the deal with an unexpected arrival of unaccompanied migrant children and teenagers at the southern border, but what President Joe Biden has gone through in recent weeks is unprecedented. Government data shows more than 550 unaccompanied children per day have been crossing the border for the last three weeks. The surge has overwhelmed the government, hindering its job of safely caring for these minors before giving them to family members or sponsors in the U.S. Between 2014 and 2019, the Obama and Trump administration returned most minors who did not qualify for asylum back to their home countries, but Biden has refused to do so considering dire conditions in Central America. The Washington Post
In other federal immigration news…
Refugee Agency Orders Quick Family Reunification
The Office of Refugee Resettlement announced its plans Monday for housing unaccompanied children at the border. The directive includes telling shelters to quickly release children with parents or guardians in the U.S. as ORR tries to find space for more than 11,000 minors. Another 5,000 were kept in Customs and Border Patrol facilities as of this weekend; Those facilities aren’t meant for long-term care. Also on Monday, San Diego officials announced the Department of Health of Human Services will turn the city’s convention center into the government’s fifth emergency housing facility for minors. CBS News
Trump Tries to Spin Border Surge Back on Biden
Former President Donald Trump called in to Fox News on Monday to complain about what is happening with the border, criticize Republicans who condemned him and falsely claim election fraud. Those close to Trump say he is planning on returning to the political field before the midterm elections, but he has felt forced to act even more quickly as Biden and Democrats blame him for the border crisis and hate crimes against Asian Americans. Trump’s goal is to make the humanitarian crisis at the border into a political crisis for Biden. The Hill
