Refugee agency to fast-track release of some migrant children with parents in the U.S.

The federal agency charged with housing unaccompanied migrant minors issued guidance on Monday directing shelters to expedite the release of some children with parents or legal guardians in the U.S. willing to care for them, according to an internal memo obtained by CBS News.

This guidance is the Biden administration's latest effort to address the soaring number of unaccompanied minors crossing the southern border and straining the U.S. government's capacity to house them in child-appropriate facilities. By releasing children already in custody more quickly, the government can make additional beds available for new arrivals.  Over the weekend, approximately 5,000 unaccompanied minors were stranded in short-term Customs and Border Protection (CBP) facilities, most of which are not designed to hold children. Many have not been transferred out of U.S. border custody because of a lack of bed space at shelters overseen by the Office of Refugee Resettlement, an agency within the Department of Health and Human Services.