ICE asks for agency volunteers to assist at the US-Mexico border amid surge of migrant children

Immigration and Customs Enforcement asked for volunteers from the agency to support the federal government’s efforts along the US-Mexico border as the Biden administration continues to grapple with an influx of migrants at the southwest border.

Volunteers were requested to help Customs and Border Protection with security for migrant families and unaccompanied children, according to a Homeland Security official.

The deployments could begin as soon as this weekend at locations along the southwest border, most likely Texas, the official said.

The request for support, first reported by The Washington Post, comes as the administration scrambles to move unaccompanied migrant children out of US Border Patrol custody as quickly as possible. Children who are apprehended by Border Patrol are required to be transferred to Department of Health and Human Services custody within 72 hours.

But the administration has not been able to keep pace, and children have been stuck in Border Patrol custody beyond the three-day limit, with some in custody for around 10 days.

On Monday, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas asked department employees to volunteer to help support the “surge” of migrants along the US- Mexico border, calling the situation “overwhelming,” according to a DHS source who received the email sent by Mayorkas.

“Today I activated the Volunteer Force to support Customs and Border Protection (CBP) as they face a surge in migration along the southwest border. You have likely seen news about the overwhelming numbers of migrants seeking access to this country along the southwest border,” the email read.

DHS did not immediately respond to a request for comment.