MCALLEN, Texas — Approximately 30,000 people who illegally crossed the southern border and were taken into federal custody have been released into the United States since January as facilities for detaining migrants reach unprecedented overcapacity, according to the former top border official under the Trump administration.

Mark Morgan, the former acting commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, told the Washington Examiner on Tuesday that the releases have been directly from Border Patrol and that people were not transferred to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, where families can be held for up to 20 days. Morgan said he was given the information by officials at the agency.