The Biden administration is reportedly considering sending migrants to states near the Canadian border for processing amid a rush of attempted crossings at the southern border.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is requesting planes that would allow it to transport the migrants to the northern states, The Washington Post reported Friday. The request was reportedly made after 1,000 family members and unaccompanied minors crossed the Rio Grande on Friday morning, and border officials are still working to process another group of 1,000 migrants that arrived Thursday night.
The Department of Homeland Security and the White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment from The Hill. CBP denied any plans to move migrants to northern states are in the works.
“CBP continually evaluates possible contingency plans and adjusts its operations as circumstances dictate, but currently there are no plans to transfer migrants from the Southwest border to the Northern or Coastal borders,” the agency told The Hill.
The flight proposal is the latest sign the Biden administration is grappling with a spike in migrants gathering at the southern border.
While officials are turning most away, they are admitting a mushrooming number of unaccompanied minors who show up at the border. More than 14,000 minors who traveled to the U.S. without their families are currently in federal custody, an official said Thursday.
The Department of Health and Human Services has more than 9,500 child migrants in its facilities, while CBP has about 4,500. Evidence has emerged showing that minors are staying in CBP cells meant for adults for longer than is legally allowed.
The Biden administration has denied that the situation at the border is a “crisis,” instead labeling it a “challenge.” However, it mobilized extensive resources to try to ameliorate the situation on the ground, including ordering the Federal Emergency Management Agency to give $110 million to nonprofit groups and government agencies to provide help to families and children crossing the border.
The administration has come under fire for barring media from covering Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas’s visit to the southern border on Friday, sparking criticism from activists that officials are being insufficiently transparent over the issue.