[20210805]IN11638_西南边境孤身外籍儿童人数不断增加.pdf

CRS INSIGHT Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress Increasing Numbers of Unaccompanied Alien Children at the Southwest Border Updated August 5, 2021 The number of encounters (apprehensions or expulsions) of unaccompanied alien children (UAC, unaccompanied children) at the U.S.-Mexico border with the Department of Homeland Securitys (DHSs) U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) in the first nine months of FY2021 (93,512) already exceeds the previous apprehensions record from FY2019 (76,020). UAC encounters declined substantially from FY2019 to FY2020, largely because of the COVID-19 pandemic and related public-health border enforcement measures. Starting in June 2020, they increased consistently before almost doubling from January to February 2021 and again from February to March. They have since remained elevated. March 2021 UAC encounters (18,723) were the highest monthly total on record (Figure 1). U.S. officials say figures for July may exceed the March record number, and the figures for the rest of FY2021 are also expected to remain elevated. Figure 1. UAC Encounters at Southwest Border by Month, FY2018-FY2021* Source: FY2018: CBP, “U.S. Border Patrol Southwest Borde