House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, alongside some of his GOP colleagues, is set to travel to the southern border in the coming days to view firsthand the overflow of migrants in custody.
McCarthy plans to take a trip to Texas, with around a dozen Republican lawmakers, his office told Axios on Tuesday. The travel plans follow a Friday letter sent by him to the Biden administration, which urged a bipartisan effort to combat the crisis as facilities struggle to house an influx of migrants.
“I feel compelled to express great concern with the manner in which your administration is approaching this crisis, but with hope that we can work together to solve it,” McCarthy wrote at the time.
The top Republican cited a “113% increase in [unaccompanied alien children] apprehensions,” with a 157% increase in total apprehensions in January 2021 compared to the previous year. He noted statistics for February were unavailable.
His trip would be the second high-profile visit this week as Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and domestic policy adviser Susan Rice visited the border on Saturday.
OVER 1,000 MIGRANT CHILDREN HELD BEYOND LEGAL DETENTION LIMIT AS BORDER SURGE WORSENS
“[Border officials] discussed capacity needs given the number of unaccompanied children and families arriving at our border, the complex challenges with rebuilding our gutted border infrastructure and immigration system, as well as improvements that must be made in order to restore safe and efficient procedures to process, shelter, and place unaccompanied children with family or sponsors,” the White House said at the conclusion of the visit.
The Biden administration has been grappling with a border crisis, and officials anticipate that 117,000 children will arrive at the U.S.-Mexico border without a parent or guardian in 2021, according to a White House Domestic Policy Council document, Axios reported on Tuesday. The massive number dwarfs previous highs in 2014 and 2019, when 68,000 and 80,000 solo children made their way into the United States, respectively.
More than 3,200 children have been moved to holding facilities, which are designed to house adults, under the watch of U.S. Customs and Border Protection as detention buildings a breaking point, according to NBC News. Of the sum, 1,400 have remained in custody past the 72-hour limit in small concrete rooms without beds, dubbed “hieleras,” or iceboxes.
Customs and Border Protection told the Washington Examiner on Tuesday that it’s working with other agencies to increase “capacity” and place the solo children with the right people.
“DHS has continued our close coordination with HHS as it increases its capacity to care for unaccompanied minors and place them with sponsors,” a CBP spokesperson said in an email. “Our goal is to ensure that CBP has the continued capability to quickly and efficiently transfer unaccompanied minors after they are apprehended to HHS custody, as is required by U.S. law, and as is clearly in the best interest of the children.”
READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER BY CLICKING HERE
An estimated 321 unaccompanied migrant children are entering holding facilities each day, and authorities observed roughly 20,000 illegal crossings each week in February.
Mayorkas likened the rush to a “challenge” rather than a crisis in a briefing last week, but border officials say otherwise.
“A crisis is looming, if not already here,” said Ron Vitiello, former deputy commissioner of Customs and Border Protection. “In practical terms, when stations and shelters are not adequate for the detained population or the UACs, you’re in crisis. Thousands a night are pouring in.”
