The total number of kids separated from their parents and being held in U.S. custody increased by more than 500 in the past couple weeks, according to NBC News. At that pace, the total number of kids in custody will reach more than 20,000 by early August.
But unnamed Trump administration officials told the Washington Examiner the number was even bigger than what was being reported by Health and Human Services.
An HHS official added that the agency expects to be taking about 250 kids each day at least for the next two months. If that estimate holds, HHS could be caring for 18,500 more children by the end of August.
That would put the total number of children being held by the end of this summer at closer to 30,000 kids overall.
This is turning into a full-blown humanitarian crisis—wholly-owned, operated, and generated by Donald Trump and his nativist henchmen.