Washington, Jun 5 (AFP) US authorities detained or blocked more than 144,000 migrants at the border with Mexico in May, up 32 per cent since April as Central Americans flock to the United States seeking asylum, official figures showed Wednesday.

Customs and Border Protection officials said most of the migrants were families from Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador, and included some 57,718 children.

"We are in a full-blown emergency. The system is broken," said CBP Acting Commissioner John Sanders. (AFP)

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