Most migrant families not being expelled by U.S.

The blue and red flashing lights atop U.S. Border Patrol vehicles illuminated the scene under the night sky in Texas this week, where a group of migrants who crossed the border illegally were apprehended and taken into custody.

To deter such crossings, U.S. policy is to quickly expel single adults and families to Mexico.

But U.S. government data show that out of nearly 53,000 parents and children caught crossing the southern border in March, just under a third - about 17,000 - were deported.

The rest were placed in U.S. immigration proceedings.

That fact undercuts a claim made by President Joe Biden in March.

(MARCH 25) “We’re sending back the vast majority of the families that are coming. We’re trying to work out now, with Mexico, their willingness to take more of those families back. But that's what's happening. They're not getting across the border."

The White House clarified that expulsions under what's called Title 42 - a pandemic-related measure invoked by President Donald Trump - don't always happen.

In a statement, a spokesperson said "In the event that Mexico is not able to receive an individual or a family, they are placed in immigration proceedings in the United States."

The U.S. is not expelling, as a rule, unaccompanied children. Border agents caught about 19,000 such minors in March. Video released by Customs and Border Protection shows an officer encountering a frightened 10-year-old Nicaraguan boy alone, asking for help.

He told the agent he was without his parents, left behind by a larger group.

CBP said the child was taken for medical screening and will be transferred to the custody of U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Biden has defended his administration's handling of a rise in border crossings in recent months.

Republicans have criticized Biden, a Democrat, for easing some Trump-era restrictions, arguing his policies have encouraged illegal immigration.

Biden and his top officials have blamed Trump for dismantling systems to receive asylum seekers and unaccompanied minors.

Overall, more than 172,000 migrants were caught at the U.S.-Mexico border in March - the highest monthly tally since March, 2001.