Document Shows Unaccompanied Minors are Held in Hotels Before Facing Deportation
Undocumented youths, with some as young as one year old, were found detained in hotels before the administration deports them to their home countries. The deportation is being conducted after President Donald Trump signed a policy that shut down the United States' asylum system amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to an exclusive report by the Associated Press, documents showed a private contractor for the Immigration and Customs Enforcement takes migrant children, to hotels in Arizona and at the Texas-Mexico border.
The hotels, which were revealed to be three Hampton Inn & Suites hotels, have been used 200 times. Records claim many of the children are detained for several days before they are sent home. It also showed than over 10,000 beds at government shelters remain empty.
Under anti-trafficking laws, migrant children are required to be sent to government shelters while waiting for placement with family sponsors. However, the administration is now immediately expelling asylum seekers, citing the current health crisis to set aside the laws.
What do lawyers and advocates say about the case?
Critics and advocacy groups are challenging the use of hotels as detention spaces. They say keeping them in hotels exposes them to possible trauma as the areas are not designed to hold and care for them.
Roberto Lopez, a member of the Texas Civil Rights Project, said he spotted a small child playing with an adult on the other side of the hotel's gate. He also claimed to hear at least one child crying somewhere in the hallway.
Additionally, Lopez said there were unmarked white vans parked outside the hotel. Through the windows, he saw adults and children. He did not see logos of government agencies on the vehicle or inside the hotel.
The ICE said the private contractors were "transportation specialists" who were "trained to work with minors." It is unclear whether the contractors were licensed child care professionals.
In early July, lawyers visited a holding facility in Clint, Texas. A report by BBC said the cells were overcrowded. Children were locked up without adult supervision. They also did not have access to food or showers.
Why are they turning away undocumented youths?
The Trump administration imposed more stringent coronavirus restrictions on March 21. The order received multiple extensions. As of July 17, only 61 migrant children who arrived at the border were taken to government shelters. Hundreds were turned away, CBS News reports.
Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials apprehended over 1,650 unaccompanied minors in June. Only 4 percent were taken to the Office of Refuge of Resettlement. The rest of the youths were immediately expelled by border authorities.
Data showed border officials received only 62 children in April, and only 39 in May. More than 2,000 unaccompanied youths had been expelled as of June 25. More minors have been subjected to speedy deportations since.