18 May 2021

Visualizing the Border Migration Crisis' Surge in Detentions

Beginning as the Biden-Harris administration assumed power on 20 January 2021, the border migration crisis in the U.S. arose as the new administration significantly altered the nation's established border enforcement policies. Now, the number of detentions along the southwestern border of the United States with Mexico have hit a 21-year high.

Here's what that looks like in terms of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CPB) agency's monthly count of detentions at the U.S.-Mexico border:

CBP Detentions Along Southwestern U.S. Border with Mexico, October 2020 - April 2021

Here's where the problem originated:

Biden officials are trying to fulfill their campaign promises on immigration but have found that quickly reversing Trump’s policies can create an abundance of political headaches and contribute to a host of other problems, including trying to process and house a record number of unaccompanied children crossing the southern border.

That observation is backed up by the numbers, even as the Biden-Harris administration has started playing a shell game with how it manages the detained unaccompanied minors in its custody to try to conceal it.