Fact Check explains why and how infant formula is being sent to children of undocumented immigrants at the border

"The baby formula shortage has caused a raft of misleading and false claims, but here's one that is true: The federal government feeds babies detained in immigration facilities at the southwest border," FactCheck.org reports in its latest newsletter. Some Republican politicians have claimed that the government is sending formula at the expense of American consumers and that the action is a result of Biden administration policies. This is not so, Saranac Hale Spencer reports.

A framework of federal laws and regulations, some of which FactCheck details, governs the treatment of detained immigrant minors. Essentially, U.S. Customs and Border Protection is required to give children and babies food and water, access to bathrooms, emergency medical services, and accommodations that are well-ventilated and temperature-controlled. CBP facilities also must have diapers, wipes, unexpired formula, and one to five safe bassinets for infants to sleep in. Every administration for the past quarter-century has followed those legal requirements, including the Trump administration.

FactCheck also notes that detainees aren't supposed to be held for more than 72 hours. "That 72-hour limit isn’t always followed. But to the extent that CBP is providing formula to detained infants, it’s likely not for an extended period of time, which suggests that the amount of formula at the facilities wouldn’t have a measurable impact on the national supply," Spencer reports.