A top official from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) in charge of caring for unaccompanied immigrant children (UC) has described the surge of illegal border crossings as “unprecedented,” while adding that the temporary shelters that have been opened are providing “a crisis standard of care” to the minors. Cindy Huang, director of HHS’s Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR), made the comments in a sworn declaration to a federal court judge in a case related to the 1997 Flores settlement agreement, which sets the principles and guidelines for the care, custody, and release of immigrant children under federal custody. In her testimony, Huang characterized the ongoing surge of illegal immigrants at the U.S. southern border, particularly a surge in unaccompanied minors, as “historic” and “unprecedented,” while telling the federal judge that she believes the influx is likely to increase in the “coming weeks and months.” “As an initial …