Homeland Security chief directs FEMA to aid in sheltering unaccompanied migrant children

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas directed the Federal Emergency Management Agency to aid and support efforts “to safely receive, shelter, and transfer unaccompanied children” crossing the country’s southern border in a Saturday statement.

The announcement comes on the tail of a week that saw the number of unaccompanied migrant children in US Border Patrol custody rise to unprecedented heights — more than 3,200 unaccompanied migrant children were in CBP custody, according to documents obtained by CNN and dated Monday.

Of those, around 2,600 were awaiting placement in shelters suitable for minors, but there were just more than 500 beds available to accommodate them.

“I am incredibly proud of the agents of the Border Patrol, who have been working around the clock in difficult circumstances to take care of children temporarily in our care,” Mayorkas wrote Saturday. “Yet, as I have said many times, a Border Patrol facility is no place for a child. We are working in partnership with (the Department of Health and Human Services) to address the needs of unaccompanied children, which is made only more difficult given the protocols and restrictions required to protect the public health and the health of the children themselves.”

On Friday, the Biden administration announced the termination of a Trump-era agreement that had allowed DHS and HHS to share information on potential sponsors for migrant children with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which a Biden administration official said had had a “chilling effect” on undocumented family members coming forward.

Earlier this month, CNN reported migrant children crossing the US-Mexico border alone are on average staying in Border Patrol custody for longer than the three-day limit, overwhelming capacity at border facilities and indicating a crisis taking shape, according to internal documents.

But, at a press briefing at the White House, Mayorkas declined to describe the situation at the border as a crisis, instead calling it “a challenge.”

With Saturday’s announcement, FEMA will work with HHS “to look at every available option to quickly expand physical capacity for appropriate lodging.”

Texas Democratic Rep. Veronica Escobar on Sunday defended the President’s handling of the situation at the US-Mexico border, saying it is “an enormous challenge,” but claiming it is not a result of the Biden administration’s policies.

“There is no doubt Jake that what we are seeing today is an enormous challenge and it’s unacceptable,” Escobar told CNN’s Jake Tapper on “State of the Union.” “But we also, I think, need to acknowledge that the flow of humanity arriving at our front door never stopped. The Donald Trump administration didn’t stop them, and what we are seeing today is the consequence of four years of dismantling every system in place to address this with humanity and compassion.”

This story has been updated with comments from Rep. Veronica Escobar on “State of the Union.”