U.S. shelters received a record 122,000 unaccompanied migrant children in 2021
CBSN
The Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS) shelter system received 122,000 migrant children who were taken into U.S. custody without their parents in fiscal year 2021, an all-time high that shattered previous records, according to new government figures obtained by CBS News.
In fiscal years 2016 and 2019, when the previous records were set, HHS received 59,000 and 69,000 unaccompanied migrant children, respectively, historical government statistics show. During a six-month period starting this March, more than 92,000 unaccompanied minors were transferred to HHS.
The record number of shelter transfers was fueled by the unprecedented arrival of 147,000 unaccompanied children to the U.S.-Mexico border in fiscal year 2021, which ended in October.
