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FACT BRIEF

Is a Wisconsin congressman correct that 10,000 unaccompanied minors cross the US border each month?

By Tom Kertscher
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YES

Republican U.S. Rep. Glenn Grothman, who represents part of eastern Wisconsin north of Madison and Milwaukee, made the claim Feb. 27, 2023 on the House floor.

The U.S. Customs and Border Protection reports border “encounters” with its agents. Its latest figures, posted Feb. 2, 2023, show 47,092 unaccompanied minor encounters in the previous four months. That’s an average of 11,773 per month.

Unaccompanied minor encounters in fiscal year 2022 — Oct. 1, 2021 through Sept. 30, 2022 — totaled 152,880. That’s an average of 12,740 per month.

The figures include minors crossing the border illegally between legal points of entry, such as walking across the U.S.-Mexico border, and those trying to cross at legal points of entry.

Federal policy is to transfer unaccompanied minors into facilities run by the Office of Refugee Resettlement within 72 hours.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Sources
Forbes Breaking News 'Please Look Out For The Children!': Glenn Grothman Lays Into Biden & New York Times Over Border
US Customs and Border Protection Nationwide Encounters
Pew Research Single adults have driven increase in migrant encounters during COVID-19 pandemic
US Department of Health and Human Services ORR Unaccompanied Children Program Policy Guide: Section 1
US Customs and Border Protection Nationwide Encounters
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Wisconsin Watch
Wisconsin Watch, the news arm of the nonpartisan, nonprofit Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism, increases the quality and quantity of investigative reporting in Wisconsin, while training current and future investigative journalists. Its work fosters an informed citizenry and strengthens democracy.
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About fact briefs published on Gigafact
Fact briefs are short, credibly sourced summaries that offer “yes/no” answers in response to claims found online. They rely on publicly available, often primary source data and documents. Fact briefs are created by contributors to Gigafact —a nonprofit project looking to expand participation in fact-checking and protect the democratic process. See all fact briefs here.