Citing the emergency directive by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), border officials sent more than 14,000 migrants to Mexico or their home countries in April, according to new government data.
In the last 11 days of March, more than 6,400 were expelled under the order, which the administration says allows officials to bypass laws and policies that govern the processing of migrants and asylum-seekers, including children who arrive at the border without their parents or legal guardians.
Officials relied on the emergency authority under the CDC order to quickly remove the vast majority of migrants who arrived at the U.S.-Mexico border without documents last month. More than 90 percent of the adults, families and unaccompanied children encountered by Border Patrol in April were expelled.
Most of the 15,862 migrants encountered by Border Patrol last month were single adults, but 604 families and 734 unaccompanied minors were also processed. Officials did not immediately say how many of these families and children were processed under the CDC order, but government data suggests most of them were expelled.
The Office of Refugee Resettlement, charged with caring for unaccompanied migrant minors, received only 58 children from border officials in April, according to the data obtained by CBS News. In March, including the 11 days under the order, border officials referred 1,852 children to the agency.
Since the office has continued releasing minors to sponsors in the U.S. during the pandemic, less than 1,650 children remained in its care this week — a population level not seen since late 2011.