There are more detained migrant children in the United States than ever before, new figures reveal.
Data obtained by the New York Times from the Department of Health and Human Services shows there are 12,800 children currently in custody at shelters for migrant children.
That's almost five times as many as in May 2017 when there were 2,400 children in custody, but the number of people crossing the border has remained relatively steady in that time.
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According to The Times, the massive increase can be attributed to problems finding carers and sponsors for the children to be released to, due to stricter immigration enforcement and fewer people coming forward to offer their homes.
Potential carers must submit fingerprints that are vetted by immigration authorities, slowing down the process of finding placements for children and ruling out any undocumented people from taking children in.
Many children from Central America crossed the border alone, without their parents.
The Times says shelters are at close to 90 percent capacity and there are fears that any uptick in border crossings could quickly overwhelm the system.
Earlier this year media reports surfaced of thousands of migrant children being separated from their parents and held at border facilities in a crackdown on illegal immigration at the US-Mexico border.
In June, President Trump signed an executive order to end the process.
Newshub.
