The facts about how the U.S. processes unaccompanied migrant children at the border
By Camilo Montoya-Galvez
Shelters for migrant children near capacity
The treatment of migrant children taken into custody along the U.S.-Mexico border has become a focal point of the national debate over immigration policy.
Over the past decade, Democratic and Republican administrations have struggled to adequately and safely process large numbers of unaccompanied minors, who have special legal protections under U.S law.
Since 2013, U.S. authorities along the southern border have taken into custody more than 445,000 unaccompanied children, including 72,000 in 2014 and 80,000 in 2019, according to Department of Homeland Security data.