Some lesser known reasons for the border crisis

See Grandstanding at the Border: Democrats finally admit there’s a problem. How about helping to solve it? WSJ Editorial. Excerpt:

"Migrants who cross the border, legally or not, can claim asylum. They are taught what to say to pass the low bar of “credible fear” in an initial asylum interview, and then most are released into the U.S. pending their final hearing. In the second quarter of 2019, more than 876,500 cases were pending in the immigration courts and they can take years.

In fiscal 2019, Immigration and Customs Enforcement had funding for an average daily detention population of 45,274. But as of June 29 more than 53,000 were in its custody. With its beds full, ICE now releases some of those migrants who aren’t subject to mandatory detention orders, but it has also slowed the numbers it takes from CBP. The border patrol can’t by law stop apprehending illegal crossers, though it can’t pass all of them out if its facilities. Thus, the overcrowding.

Under a legal settlement known as Flores, CBP gives priority to children and families before single adults. Minors can’t be detained for more than 20 days, so parents are released with their children. Migrants now know that if they bring children on the dangerous journey north, they'll move through the system faster and be freed sooner. Meanwhile, single adult migrants languish in increasingly deplorable conditions, as the IG reports show."