CENTER FOR IMMIGRATION STUDIES: Tsunami of UACs May Be Nearing an End. [archive]

The crisis of unaccompanied minors (UACs) and family units being apprehended by the U.S. Border Patrol is showing signs of going from a tsunami to a steady and more manageable flow, providing cause for cautious optimism and relief for communities inundated by unaccompanied minors and the horrific crimes that have recently occurred.

Recent data released by the Border Patrol shows what may be construed as a last ditch effort by UACs to cross the border and be placed in more than a hundred communities in the United States by the Office of Refugee Resettlement (part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services).

While the Border Patrol UAC apprehensions [archive] from December to February in FY 2017 were up by 595 from the previous year, 1,922 were apprehended in February (the first full month after the inauguration), the lowest February apprehension number in five years. (See Table 1.)