Vain Jangling
The number of migrant children at the border.

To anyone watching, listening, or reading the news (or articles) concerning the border, there is the mentioning of children. This could be children who have crossed or tried to cross the border with or without family. So they end up in Border Patrol facilities.

Recently, it was noted that the number of children being held in Border Patrol facilities went down from more than 5,000 to 600 since March, 2021. On the surface, this news sounds good, given the recent pictures of overcrowded Border Patrol facilities.

The hint of jangling comes when one is made aware that the children were merely moved from the Border Patrol facilities to the Department of Health and Human Services. This explains why the Border Patrol facilities are no longer pictured overcrowded, but also why they are having to use tents (some say right near the same location) and military bases to “handle the continuing surge in unaccompanied children.”

To give fair credit—to, no doubt, an overwhelming job—it has been said that they have perfected the processing of children (thus, the hold time in Border Patrol facilities) from 131 hours down to 30 hours.

However, the vain jangling really comes into view when this only “hides” the problem at the border. (1) We still have the large number of children in DHHS and (2) we still have children crossing the border and being processed through BPF, so even though the BPF may no longer look overcrowded (i.e. picture sharing—or exposing—the influx of immigrants or migrants illegally crossing the border), the reality is we still have a problem at the border. So, is it merely semantics: a political narrative to give an appearance of being resolved, while in reality the number of unaccompanied children in custody remains high?