A briefing scheduled for President Biden this afternoon describes the need for 20,000 beds to house a crowd of migrant children crossing the border from the United States to Mexico, Axios learns.
Why does it matter: The rapid influx of unaccompanied children is taking shape in the government’s first new crisis. A presentation created by the Domestic Policy Council details the dimensions with almost 40 slides full of graphics and details.
Driving the news: On Monday, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said from the White House podium that the current situation is not a crisis. Today, the president will be informed that the number of migrant children is on track to exceed the all-time record by 45% – and the government does not have enough beds.
- Facing growing numbers, the Department of Health and Human Services – which oversees the network of shelters for migrant children – is planning to change its coronavirus protocols to make room for an additional 2,000 children and adolescents, according to a source with direct knowledge of the presentation. and a second Congressional source.
- Even with new COVID-19 shelters and more flexible restrictions, management projects that it will fall short of its needs by a few thousand.
- A DHS spokesman did not immediately respond to an email asking for comment. An HHS spokesman forwarded the request to the White House, which declined to comment.
Between the lines: Currently, DHS projects that there will be 117,000 unaccompanied migrant children crossing the border this year, according to information on the slides.
- Many of them are teenagers. In the past month alone, about 6,000 migrants between the ages of 16 and 17 were captured, according to the slides.
- HHS is expected to reach its shelter capacity later this month, according to both sources.
What to watch: The government is looking for ways to reduce shelter populations by accelerating the release of children to sponsors who are already in the United States, the sources said.
- They plan to end a Trump-era deal between DHS and HHS that included strict sponsor verification requirements – a practice that some advocates say has a frightening effect on sponsors’ willingness to offer their homes.
- HHS has already said it would pay for the transportation of children when sponsors cannot, and has proposed removing the Social Security number request from the form filled in by potential caregivers for unaccompanied minors, as reported by Reuters.
Flashback: Representative Henry Cueller (D-Texas), who represents a border district, warned of the unintended consequences of such actions.
Editor’s note: this story has been updated with HHS’s response to a request for comment.