The administration said last month that it would generally deny asylum to migrants who present themselves at the southern border of the United States without first applying for protection in one of the countries they passed through, similar to an attempt by the previous administration that never entered into force because it was blocked by the courts.
But most of these measures do not include families, who are treated differently because of the children they travel with. But parents who fear arrest may also start sending their children without an adult, and the number of minors traveling alone is also on the rise.
“I am alarmed by news reports that the administration is considering reintroducing family detention policies,” said Rep. Bennie Thompson, the ranking Democrat on the House Homeland Security Committee. “These measures are not only cruel and harmful to children, but they do not prevent families from moving to the United States.”
The government has the capacity to house about 3,000 people in two family detention centers located in Texas.
The administration of President Barack Obama and President Donald Trump detained families at these facilities until their immigration cases were resolved, although a court order prohibits the government from holding minors for more than 20 days. A few months ago, a third family detention center located in Pennsylvania closed its doors.
Jean-Pierre rejected criticism that Biden was reimplementing some of the policies of Trump who, among some of the major changes he made to the immigration system, severely limited asylum and forcibly separated children from their parents at the border. , a policy denounced internationally for being considered inhumane.
“A lot of people have compared what the president is doing to extending what Trump did or acting in a similar way to Trump,” Jean-Pierre said. “That’s not what’s happening here.”
Government officials will end the pandemic-related national emergency on May 11. Because the border restrictions known as Title 42 are related to the national emergency, Washington plans to end them that same day as well. The Supreme Court is considering a Republican-led attempt to keep the order in place, but has already pulled oral arguments in the case from its calendar.
The majority of migrants who arrive asking for asylum do not obtain it, according to data from the federal government. Only about 30% are considered eligible under US law, which narrowly defines eligibility. Many of the people who arrive are looking for a better life and to escape poverty and devastation in their home countries, but that often does not mean they can stay in the United States.
The two detention centers in Texas are in Karnes City and Dilley. Families may again be held at Dilley, a facility used by the Obama and Trump administrations for family detention. The New York Times was the first outlet to report that authorities were considering detaining entire families again.
