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Although hundreds of children separated from their families after crossing the border have been released by court order, the total number of migrant children detained has reached the highest level ever recorded – a decisive step for the Trump administration to reduce the number of families coming to the United States.
Population levels in migrant shelters under contract with the federal government have increased five-fold since last summer, according to data obtained by the New York Times, reaching a total of 12,800 this month. In May 2017, 2,400 of these children were detained.
The huge increases, which have placed the federal reception system close to capacity, do not result from an influx of children into the country, but from a reduction in the number of people released to live with families and families. other sponsors. and human services suggests. Some of those working in the migrant shelter network say that the bottleneck affects both the children and the system that supports them.
Most children have crossed the border alone, without their parents. Many of them come from Central America and are housed in a system of more than 100 reception centers across the United States, with the highest concentration near the southwestern border.
The new data was reported to members of Congress, who shared it with The Times. It shows that, despite the Trump administration's efforts to discourage Central American migrants, roughly the same number of children cross the border as in years past. The big difference, say those familiar with the shelter system, is that the red tape and fear of stricter enforcement of immigration laws have discouraged parents and family friends from sponsoring children. .
Home capacity has hovered around 90% since at least May, compared to about 30% a year ago. According to the operators, any further push at border crossings, which could occur at any time, could quickly overwhelm the system.
"The closer they get to 100%, the less they will be able to deal with the unexpected," said Mark Greenberg, who oversaw the care of migrant children for President Barack Obama's Health and Social Services Department. "Even if there is not a sudden influx, they will soon run out of capabilities unless something changes."
The administration appeared to address this on Tuesday, announcing that it would triple the size of a temporary "tent city" in Tornillo, Texas, to accommodate up to 3,800 children until the end of the year. year. Immigrant rights advocates and members of Congress reacted to the news with distress, as the conditions are relatively difficult in such overflow facilities, compared to traditional shelters.
Facilities like Tornillo's are also more expensive to operate, according to representative Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut, the sub-committee of Democrats on housing finance. She stated that these facilities cost about $ 750 per child per day, which is three times the amount of a typical shelter.
"You steal from child protection, and we do it by design," said DeLauro. "You increase costs and prolong the trauma for these children."
Federal authorities have stated that they deal with high levels of illegal border crossing and asylum applications. "The number of unaccompanied foreign children apprehended is a symptom of the larger problem of a broken immigration system," said Evelyn Stauffer, press officer of the Department of Health and Human Services. in a statement. "That's why H.H.S. joins the President in asking Congress to attack this broken system and the pull factors that have led to an increase in the US border.
The migrant child accommodation system was reviewed this summer when more than 2,500 separated children were sheltered in federal shelters as part of the government's zero tolerance policy. Trump administration. But these children represent only a fraction of the total number of children currently detained.
Historically, children classified as "unaccompanied" have been placed with sponsors, such as parents already in the United States, extended family members or family friends, as soon as federal authorities have approved sponsors. But new data shows that the investment process has slowed down considerably. Monthly outflows have dropped by about two – thirds since last year.
Delays in sponsor validation are partly due to changes made by the Trump administration to the operation of the process. In June, the authorities announced that potential sponsors and other adult members of their households should submit their fingerprints and that the data would be shared with the immigration authorities.
Traditionally, most sponsors were themselves undocumented, and as a result, they fear risking being expelled by claiming sponsorship from a child. Even those who are willing to become sponsors have had to wait months before receiving their fingerprints and examining them.
Federal officials say their screening procedures are designed to protect the children in their care.
"Children who enter the country illegally are at great risk of being exploited by traffickers and smugglers," Stauffer said in her statement.
But the more children are detained, the more anxious and depressed they are, according to Greenberg, who oversaw the program under Obama's leadership. When this happens, children may try to hurt themselves or escape, and may become violent with staff and with each other, he added.
"Being in group care for an extended period of time is not a good thing. This increases the likelihood that things will go wrong, "said Greenberg.
The administration channeled children who were separated from their parents into the shelter system this summer as part of the previous policy, without any apparent collaboration with officials who oversee the housing program.
According to several shelter operators, separated children have injected a new level of chaos into the facilities because they can not go to the media. The children were younger and more traumatized than those with whom the shelters were used to dealing and they arrived without a plan to know when they could be released or to whom.
But the farmers said the system had already been submerged for months as children continued to pour in as fewer people were released.
The shelter system has already overflowed. In 2014, when unaccompanied children crossed the border in unprecedented numbers, the lack of space in the shelters led to a rescue copy of the children at the border, which the authorities described at the time of the crisis. humanitarian.
Since then, new facilities have been built or arranged by contract – and they are now reaching their maximum capacity.
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