Over the last three weeks, the average number of teenagers and children crossing into the United States without their parents has topped 550 per day, according to the latest government data reviewed by The Washington Post. Border officials are on pace to take in more than 17,000 minors this month, which would be an all-time high…

Another 5,000 minors are waiting for HHS beds in Border Patrol facilities not intended for children or tent facilities like the one shown in photos released Monday, more than twice the previous high of 2,600 in June 2019, data shows. The teens and children have been waiting for transfer to HHS care for 136 hours on average, nearly twice the legal limit…

When Biden officials announced in late January they would not expel minors, they essentially suspended pandemic protocols before the shelter system had returned to pre-pandemic levels. This month, the administration returned shelter capacities to their original levels, even as the coronavirus continues to be a threat.

“I do not understand why, having pretty good knowledge that you would get increased numbers, facilities and locations weren’t already pre-identified and either made warm or stood up,” said Gil Kerlikowske, who was CBP commissioner during the 2014 surge.