The Department of Health and Human Services over the last week took in an average of 130 children per day that were referred by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, a drop of almost 50 percent from the weeks prior to President Trump’s executive order aimed keeping immigrant families together, an HHS official confirmed to the Washington Examiner Thursday.
The official said 914 children were handed over to HHS’s Office of Refugee Resettlement from June 21, the day after Trump’s order, through June 27, for an average of about 130.
“Honestly, our referrals have been decreasing recently … it has not been nearly as high lately,” said Kenneth J. Wolfe, deputy director for the Office of Communications at the Administration for Children and Families, which oversees ORR.
Less than two weeks ago, an HHS official predicted that about 250 kids per day would be taken in through mid-August at least. Wolfe indicated the downturn could be an after-effect of President Trump’s executive order to stop separating families and instead detain families together, instead of moving the children to an HHS facility.
“Before the executive order [June 20], HHS indeed sent DoD a request for up to 20,000 spaces on military bases. We did site assessments, but no decisions have been made as far as HHS for unaccompanied alien children facilities,” Wolfe added. “Because of the executive order, that is now almost completely off the table as incoming — we’re around 130 a day.”
[Also read: Pentagon asked to house up to 32,000 illegal immigrants on military bases]
The dip could also be the result of family units being kept together as a result of CBP Commissioner Kevin McAleenan’s instruction not to prosecute family unit adults apprehended between ports of entry. When families were split, the children would be sent to HHS. But Wolfe said more time is needed to determine why the numbers fell.
It’s also not clear how many of the children still arriving at HHS facilities were unaccompanied when they entered the U.S.
Due to limited space within HHS and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facilities, family units are being released through the Alternative To Detention option, which allows adults in family units to be fitted with ankle monitors to ensure they show up to immigration court proceedings but allows them to be released from custody.
HHS was receiving around 85 minors daily as of late December. CBP data shows that over the past five fiscal years, officers have seen the highest levels of family units and unaccompanied minors during the summer months.
Illegal immigration along the southwestern U.S. border has spiked in the last few months, even though administration officials have said they expect Trump’s zero-tolerance policy to eventually dissuade more from coming. A Justice Department spokesman told the Washington Examiner last week the zero-tolerance policy is not expected to lead to a decline in the number of illegal immigrants attempting to make the trek to the U.S. from primarily Central American countries until early fall.
In April, Sessions directed federal prosecutors stationed at the border to bring charges against all migrants that CBP took into custody.
In an attempt to secure housing for the coming flood of children, HHS selected the Tornillo Land Port of Entry near El Paso, Texas, last week as the first back-up site to temporarily house around 360 minors.
This story was corrected to reflect Wolfe referred to “the executive order” and not “zero tolerance” as the reason for a drop in the number of HHS referrals.
