Such a shocking claim - while inevitable - is emblematic of the issues inherent in the federal government's UAC system, which has never worked and is now breaking down under its own weight as migrant children continue to surge across the U.S.-Mexico line.
As I've explained repeatedly in the past, even though I was present when that amendment was adopted, I have no idea why jurisdiction over UACs was transferred to ORR, an office that to that point had no experience in detaining, caring for, or releasing anyone, let alone children.
Section 235 of the TVPRA divided UACs into two separate groups based on nationality: children from "Contiguous" countries; and minors from "Non-contiguous" countries.
UACs from non-contiguous countries must be transferred to ORR within 72 hours and placed into formal removal proceedings, even if they haven't been trafficked and have no fear of return.
As noted, agents at the Southwest border apprehended more than 68,500 UACs in FY 2014, prompting President Obama that August to expand UAC detention and launch a PR campaign throughout Central America to deter parents from paying smugglers to bring children to the United States.
Speaking of Trump, there was another UAC surge in FY 2019, as more than 76,000 UACs poured over the Southwest border, straining ORR's shelter capacity.
The Trump administration responded by expanding ORR vetting of would-be sponsors, and by FY 2020, UACs were spending on average 102 days in the office's custody during that vetting process.
Biden excoriated Trump over his treatment of alien children during the 2020 presidential campaign, and once he took office in January 2021 and switched things up, the number of UACs skyrocketed.
In March 2021, agents apprehended nearly 16,500 UACs from non-contiguous countries at the Southwest border, prompting Biden to begin moving them into "Emergency" shelters as ORR contract shelters quickly ran out of space in a highly criticized move.
All told, between February 2021 and June 2024, agents at the Southwest border encountered more than 396,000 UACs, a population larger than New Orleans, Cincinnati, or Cleveland.
Including so-called "Influx shelters", ORR has around 17,500 UAC shelter beds, most of them in private facilities that have contracted with or received grants from HHS. Southwest Key is the largest provider of UAC housing, and according to ABC News, it operates 29 migrant children shelters: "17 in Texas, 10 in Arizona and two in California - with room for more than 6,300 children".
https://cis.org/Arthur/DOJ-Sues-Migrant-Child-Center-Sexual-Abuse-and-Harassment
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