The Department of Homeland Security is participating in a 90-day effort from several federal agencies handling the increasing number of migrants coming across the U.S. – Mexico border; as part of this effort, DHS is directing the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to send support for unaccompanied children.
This effort will help agencies safely receive, shelter, and transfer minors. A release from DHS states that agencies are working quickly to move children from Customs and Border Protection facilities to Health and Human Services where they are placed with a family member or sponsor until their court cases are processed.
“I am grateful for the exceptional talent and responsiveness of the FEMA team. I am incredibly proud of the agents of the Border Patrol, who have been working around the clock in difficult circumstances to take care of children temporarily in our care. Yet, as I have said many times, a Border Patrol facility is no place for a child,”
said Alejandro N. Mayorkas, DHS Secretary.
According to The Department of Homeland Security, the number of migrants crossing the border has increased since April 2020, as annoying violence, natural disasters, poverty, and food scarcity continue in Central America.