More than 2,100 children who were deported with their families from the United States returned alone, according to new statistics.
The families were turned back almost immediately under a ruling introduced by Donald Trump, and maintained by Joe Biden, called Title 42.
The ruling is an emergency COVID-19 measure, that allows swift deportation without the usual lengthy legal process.
However, between January 20 and April 5, Border Patrol agents came across at least 2,121 unaccompanied migrant children who had been previously expelled, NBC News reported.
A migrant baby is seen being picked up by the Texas Rangers along the Rio Grande
An asylum-seeking family is pictured on Wednesday, having crossed into the United States
In this March 30, 2021, file photo, young unaccompanied migrants, from ages 3 to 9, watch television inside a playpen at the U.S. Customs and Border Protection facility, the main detention center for unaccompanied children in the Rio Grande Valley, in Donna, Texas.
The lone children, unlike adults and families, will not be expelled.
More than 400 lone migrant children are arriving every day.
The number of children in Health and Human Services custody has grown by more than 65 per cent between the end of March and mid-April, reaching more than 19,000.
It has now dropped sharply, falling 88 per cent between late March and late April, according to government officials, as alternative housing was found for the children.
‘We have certainly, anecdotally, learned of the fact that some families self-separate so that their children can arrive at the border,’ said Alejandro Mayorkas, Homeland Security Secretary.
‘That is something that we are looking very carefully at.’
A record number of unaccompanied migrant children entered U.S. custody along the southern border in March.
Migrant families deported to Tijuana. Unaccompanied children will not be sent back
Migrant families are seen at a shelter in Tijuana, Mexico, on April 26
In this March 30, 2021, file photo young minors lie inside a pod at the Donna Department of Homeland Security holding facility, the main detention center for unaccompanied children in the Rio Grande Valley run by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), in Donna, Texas.
A large number of children pass through the Rio Grande Valley.
The Biden administration has come under fierce criticism for failing to get a handle on the situation, and for housing the children in ‘cages’ – having condemned the Trump administration for doing the same.
As of early May, U.S. officials were holding more than 22,500 unaccompanied children who had recently crossed the border, the BBC reported.
Child migrants start off in CPB custody before being transferred to health officials in the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR).
Legally, the transfer must happen in 72 hours, but back in March some 5,000 children children were found to have exceeded that legal stay.
The backlog is now being dealt with, and the process working more quickly.
Nearly 19,000 lone migrant children entered the US in March – the largest monthly tally in US history.
The previous monthly record of 12,000 migrant children was recorded in May 2019 under Trump.
In February, around 9,500 children found crossing the border were detained by American officials.
More than 100,000 people in total were stopped from trying to cross into the US in February.
About 170,000 people were stopped in March.
During the first three weeks of April, around 122,000 people were encountered by US border authorities on the southwest border, another signal that the month will likely be similar to March, according to preliminary data obtained by CNN.
The full April data is yet to be released.