Washington (CNN) A record number of unaccompanied immigrant children, about 14,000, are currently in US custody, a Health and Human Services spokesman said Friday.

The spokesman, Mark Weber, said the additional requirements put in place by the Trump administration to "reduce risk and increase safety" for immigrant children contributed to the high number.

"We are taking all possible steps to protect children in an environment with many bad actors," Weber said. "We are balancing speed with safety and will err on the side of safety."

The San Francisco Chronicle and Houston Chronicle earlier reported the figure

Last spring, the Trump administration heightened scrutiny of adults coming forward to take care of the immigrant children, and Immigrations and Customs Enforcement now conducts exhaustive screenings of the adults. But many of them are undocumented themselves and fearful of ICE obtaining their information.

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