Immigration

Data Shows Growing Backlog of Unaccompanied Migrant Children in Border Patrol Custody

NBC News obtained internal CBP data showing the backlog

NBCUniversal Media, LLC

U.S. Customs and Border Protection had 1,763 unaccompanied migrant children in its custody as of Tuesday, 625 of whom had been held more than 72 hours, the legal limit for holding children in CBP's border processing facilities, according to internal CBP data obtained by NBC News.

The data also showed that 95 of the 625 who had been waiting more than 72 hours for transfer to Health and Human Services custody were under 13 years of age.

The influx of unaccompanied migrants under 18 at border facilities is due in part to the Biden administration's reversal of a Trump-era policy that expelled unaccompanied migrant children, along with all other migrants, under provisions invoked during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Read the full story on NBCNews.com

Contact Us