The unaccompanied children and teenagers detained at the border nearly doubled in March compared with the previous month, according to documents obtained by The New York Times. Altogether, border officials encountered more than 170,000 migrants in March, a nearly 70 percent increase from February and the highest monthly total since 2006. Officials advised that the statistics are preliminary and an official count will likely be released next week. More than 18,700 children and teenagers were taken into custody after crossing the border, including at port entries, in March, nearly double the roughly 9,450 minors detained in February. The pace of crossings by migrant families is similar to numbers in 2019, when the Trump administration struggled to safely process a surge of Central American families fleeing poverty and persecution.

Source: New York Times April 02, 2021 16:18 UTC