HOUSTON (AP) – The Border Patrol says a new record was set in May for the number of migrant families apprehended at the U.S.-Mexico border.
Agents apprehended 132,887 people in May, the largest figure in more than a decade. It set a record with 84,542 adults and children apprehended. Another 11,507 people were children traveling alone, and 36,838 were single adults.
Border Patrol officials warned on Wednesday they didn’t have the money or facilities to care for the surge in migration.
Most families are from Central America and expected to request asylum. Photos of families waiting in jam-packed cells and in outdoor enclosures have sparked outrage. Six children have died after being detained in the last year.
Officials said they don’t expect a traditional decline in migration due to hotter summer weather this year.
