US plans to resume briefly detaining migrant families
An illegal migrant from Venezuela with her child in Texas, United States, not far from the Mexican border.
The administration of US President Joe Biden plans to resume detaining families of migrants who enter the United States illegally, as it prepares to end COVID-19 restrictions at the U.S.-Mexico border.
U.S. Homeland Security officials are currently examining how best to handle the increase in migrants expected at the border once restrictions sanitary facilities, which have been in place since 2020, will be lifted in May.
Detention is said to be one of many ideas on the table, but no definitive choice has been made, qualified sources familiar with the matter who spoke to The Associated Press.
< p class="e-p">If this option were chosen, the families would be detained for short periods, perhaps only a few days, while their cases were processed by the immigration court, explained a responsible.
These sources spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly reveal the contents of the internal discussions.
White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre declined to comment on the rumors. I'm not saying yes, I'm not saying no, she said. She also declined to comment on whether President Biden believes detaining the families was a humane practice.
Under current policy, families arriving at the US-Mexico border are released to the United States and invited to appear in immigration court at a later date. At the height of the pandemic, few families were detained; instead, Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials use these facilities to detain single adults who cross the border illegally.
But due to record numbers of people arriving at the Mexican border, the United States has tightened its policies towards migrants. They show up at the border seeking asylum after a dangerous and often deadly journey.
The possibility of resuming detention of families has been met with cold shoulders by advocates of Immigration, citing studies as a reminder of how detrimental detention can be for children and families.
These defenders were also surprised to learn that this practice was the subject of internal discussions, since they had been assured that it was no longer in the cards. , they said.
The Biden administration is understood to be seeking to balance its mission to protect the rights of people fleeing persecution with its desire to improve the order in which asylum claims are processed, but detaining families has no place, according to Immigration Hub Director Sergio Gonzales.
“We implore the administration to reject this disgraceful and retrograde practice.
—Sergio Gonzales, Director of the Immigration Hub
Mississippi Democrat Congressman Bennie Thompson was equally shocked.
Not only are these policies cruel and harmful to children, but they do not prevent families from traveling to the United States, he insisted.
Illegal border crossings plummeted after Mr. Biden announced on January 5 that Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans would be deported back to Mexico. they were crossing the border illegally.
Along with this announcement, the administration added that up to 30,000 people from these four countries could enter the United States each month if they apply online .
Border Patrol apprehended 128,410 migrants at the Mexican border in January, down 42% from December, which was the highest month on record. The February figure has not been released, but it is believed to be around 130,000, according to an Associated Press source.
The United States have the capacity to house approximately 3,000 people in two family detention centers in Texas.
