Group of 130 Unaccompanied Migrant Children Apprehended in AZ near Border

Border Patrol agents in Tucson, Arizona, arrested 160 migrants crossing in one large group. They were determined to be from Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Nicaragua. Nearly 130 unaccompanied migrant children (UACs) were part of the group.

On Sunday, the large group surrendered to the Border Patrol and was taken to the Tucson Station to be processed and turned over to the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The group of mostly UACs is part of an alarming trend. Since September 17, four such instances have occurred in the area.

Of the 449 migrants arrested in the four latest groups, nearly 300 were unaccompanied children. The Border Patrol will transfer the UACs to HHS once processed. The children will be taken to one of several Emergency Intake Sites (EIS). Staff will work to find relatives or sponsors within the United States.

The Department Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) released 119,228 Unaccompanied Migrant Children (UAC) to sponsors in the United States in fiscal year 2021. The number does not include migrant children who are citizens of Mexico who are swiftly returned to their home country.

There were 13,101 unaccompanied migrant children still being held in federal detention, still awaiting release, as of Friday.

According to a Congressional Research Service report, the likely cause of the surge in unaccompanied migrant children is related to the discontinuance of their removal under the Title 42 CDC COVID-19 emergency order. The change began in February 2021 when the Biden Administration chose not to apply the order to children, thus allowing them to be released into the United States. The report found that migrant family units are voluntarily sending their children into the United States alone for this reason.

The costs incurred by HHS to care for the unaccompanied migrant children arrested in 2021 is estimated to be nearly $6 billion, according to the Congressional Report.

Randy Clark is a 32-year veteran of the United States Border Patrol.  Prior to his retirement, he served as the Division Chief for Law Enforcement Operations, directing operations for nine Border Patrol Stations within the Del Rio, Texas, Sector. Follow him on Twitter @RandyClarkBBTX.