Increasing Numbers of Unaccompanied Alien
Children at the Southwest Border
Updated April 9, 2021
In the first six months of FY2021, encounters (apprehensions or expulsions) of unaccompanied alien
children (UAC) at the U.S.-Mexico border with the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS’s) U.S.
Customs and Border Protection (CBP) have exceeded the level reached for al of FY2020. While the
number of UAC encounters declined substantial y from FY2019 to FY2020, in large part because of the
Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, they have rapidly increased in the past two months.
March UAC encounters were the highest monthly total on record.
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
(CDC) is currently exercising an authority under Title 42 of the U.S. Code (public health) that permits
DHS to rapidly expel al individuals without a valid visa or who are apprehended between official ports of
entry in order to prevent the spread of COVID-19 (expulsions). Under the Biden Administration,
unaccompanied children have been exempted from this policy and are no longer being expel ed under
Title 42. Instead, they are al being taken into custody under Title 8 of the U.S. Code (immigration law),
as in prior years (apprehensions).
Unaccompanied alien children are statutorily defined as children who lack lawful immigration status in
the United States, are under age 18, and lack a parent or legal guardian in the United States or a parent or
legal guardian in the United States who is available to provide care and physical custody. UAC treatment
and processing at U.S. borders is governed by several statutes and a legal settlement. These provisions
require that UAC who arrive at the U.S. border and are not from contiguous countries be transferred to the
custody of HHS’s Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) and al owed to apply for asylum or other forms
of immigration relief. Special provisions permit CBP to quickly repatriate Mexican and Canadian
unaccompanied children who are not trafficking victims or who do not fear persecution in their home
countries.
UAC apprehensions have fluctuated substantial y in the past decade. They increased from 16,067 in
FY2011 to 68,541 in FY2014, a record high at the time. They declined to 39,970 in FY2015, increased to
59,692 in FY2016, declined to 41,435 in FY2017, and increased to 50,036 in FY2018. In FY2019, they
reached a new record high of 76,020. FY2020 saw a decline to 30,557 encounters (19,618 Title 8
apprehensions and 10,939 Title 42 expulsions) because of the pandemic. In the first six months of
FY2021, encounters reached 47,642 (42,995 apprehensions and 4,647 expulsions).
According to CBP data, almost al apprehended UAC originate from Mexico and the “Northern Triangle”
countries—Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala. In FY2011, Mexican children accounted for 73% of
UAC apprehensions, while those from the Northern Triangle countries accounted for 27%. By FY2019,
the proportions had flipped, with Mexican nationals comprising 14% of al UAC apprehensions at the
CRS INSIGHT
Prepared for Members and
Committees of Congress
Congressional Research Service
2
border and nationals from the Northern Triangle countries comprising 86%. More recently, the Mexican
proportion has increased while that of El Salvador has sharply decreased.
Figure 1. UAC Apprehensions at Southwest Border by Country of Origin, FY2011-FY2021*
Sources: FY2011-FY2013: U.S. Border Patrol, “Juvenile and Adult Apprehensions—Fiscal Year 2013.” FY2014-FY2018:
U.S. Customs and Border Protection, “U.S. Border Patrol Southwest Border Apprehensions by Sector FY2018.” FY2019-
FY2021: U.S. Customs and Border Protection, “Southwest Border Apprehensions by Sector Fiscal Year 2021.”
Notes: *FY2021 figures represent six months, from October 1, 2020, through March 31, 2021. Figures for FY2020 and
FY2021 include Title 8 apprehensions and Title 42 expulsions. Figure 1 does not present statistics on UAC deemed
inadmissible, because they are unavailable prior to FY2017.
Most UAC encounters have occurred in the El Paso, Rio Grande, and Tucson border sectors. Among
those referred to ORR from FY2012 to FY2020, 31% have been female and 16% have been under age 13.
Several federal agencies handle the apprehension, processing, and repatriation of UAC. CBP apprehends,
processes, and initial y detains UAC arrested along U.S. borders. DHS’s U.S. Immigration and Customs
Enforcement (ICE) transports UAC from CBP custody to ORR custody. ORR shelters and places UAC
with sponsors, usual y family members, as they await an immigration hearing. Most UAC apply for
asylum, and DHS’s U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) adjudicates initial asylum
petitions. The Department of Justice’s (DOJ’s) Executive Office of Immigration Review (EOIR) conducts
immigration proceedings that al ow testimony to be presented. During these proceedings, an immigration
judge determines whether a UAC is removable or qualifies for relief that al ows him or her to remain in
the United States. ICE repatriates UAC who are ordered removed.
Because ORR was following CDC public health guidelines that limited the number of children housed in
its network of state-licensed shelters, the agency was unable to house the surge of unaccompanied
children needing care since January 2021. In recent months, many UAC have been staying in CBP
facilities (which were not designed to hold children) for longer than the 72-hour limit mandated by law.
CDC has recently directed ORR to relax its guidelines and to accommodate children at full capacity. CDC
maintains that relaxing COVID-19 guidelines at ORR shelters, despite potential health risks, is preferable
to prolonged stays in CBP facilities.
Congressional Research Service
3
The Biden Administration has expanded federal efforts to move UAC more quickly out of CBP border
facilities. ORR has sought to open previously used and new temporary facilities (i.e., influx facilities) to
supplement its existing network of state-licensed shelters. These facilities are considerably larger than
conventional ORR-supervised shelters and typical y sited on federal y owned or leased properties. As
such, they are not subject to state or local childcare licensing requirements. Temporary facilities are
typical y used for less than a year to accommodate sudden increases in UAC apprehensions.
Other Administration initiatives include rescinding a biometric and legal status information-sharing
agreement between ORR and DHS that some contend discouraged noncitizens and unauthorized persons
from sponsoring unaccompanied children; authorizing ORR shelter operators to pay for some children’s
transportation costs; and restarting the Central American Minors (CAM) program, which al ows children
to apply for asylum without traveling to the United States.
.
Author Information
William A. Kandel
Analyst in Immigration Policy
Disclaimer
This document was prepared by the Congressional Research Service (CRS). CRS serves as nonpartisan shared staff
to congressional committees and Members of Congress. It operates solely at the behest of and under the direction of
Congress. Information in a CRS Report should not be relied upon for purposes other than public understanding of
information that has been provided by CRS to Members of Congress in connection with CRS’s institutional role.
CRS Reports, as a work of the United States Government, are not subject to copyright protection in the United
States. Any CRS Report may be reproduced and distributed in its entirety without permission from CRS. However,
as a CRS Report may include copyrighted images or material from a third party, you may need to obtain the
permission of the copyright holder if you wish to copy or otherwise use copyrighted material.
IN11638 · VERSION 2 · UPDATED