Children Crossing Border Alone Hit All-Time High in 2021

Border Patrol agents apprehend and transport illegal immigrants who have just crossed the river into La Joya, Texas, on Nov. 17, 2021. Charlotte Cuthbertson/The Epoch Times

DEL RIO, Texas—Border Patrol agents encountered a record number of unaccompanied children who crossed the southern border illegally and without a parent or guardian in 2021.

From January through December, agents apprehended more than 169,000 children under the age of 18—a record that more than doubled the previous all-time high in 2019, according to Customs and Border Protection data.