The idea here seems to be to try to think outside the box on immigration actions….
But will it work?
Biden & Co. NEED to get handle on the immigration situation on several levels….
The plans show the Biden administration is racing to absorb a growing number of migrants crossing the U.S.-Mexico border amid shortages of bed space and personnel. Republicans and some Democrats fear that relaxing detention policies will exacerbate a surge that is already straining the Biden administration.
Transforming family detention amounts to a wholesale repudiation not only of the Donald Trump administration policies but also those of former president Barack Obama, and presents a significantly different vision of how to handle the fast-changing character of mass migration at the southern border….
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During the Obama and Trump administrations, most families were quickly released or deported. But some were held in dormitory-style facilities for weeks or months, if not longer, for immigration proceedings. Advocates for these families have long said they shouldn’t be detained at all — a sentiment that Biden echoed on the campaign trail last year.
“Children should be released from ICE detention with their parents immediately,” Biden wrote on Twitter in June. “This is pretty simple, and I can’t believe I have to say it: Families belong together.”…
The scope of the problem’s at the border….
Fresh internal documents from the Department of Health and Human Services show how quickly the number of child migrants crossing the border is overwhelming the administration’s stretched resources.
Driving the news: In the week ending March 1, the Border Patrol referred to HHS custody an average of 321 children per day, according to documents obtained by Axios. That’s up from a weekly average of 203 in late January and early February — and just 47 per day during the first week of January.
- The same documents, dated Tuesday, say the shelter system is at 94% occupancy and expected to reach its maximum this month….
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The big picture: This week, DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas insisted the current situation is not yet a crisis. Regardless, it’s clear the number of children crossing the U.S.-Mexico border could fast overwhelm government systems, in ways similar to the crises in 2014 and 2019.
- The uptick comes while the administration continues to use an emergency public health order to quickly deport migrant adults and some families — including asylum seekers.
- At the same time, Biden has reversed a Trump administration policy of using the public health order to quickly turn away unaccompanied children.
- The source who provided the internal Biden administration documents expects to see family migration rise over the next months, as well.
What to watch: Internally, government officials have been sounding alarm bells. As Axios previously reported, DHS is expecting a record number of child migrants this year….