Hundreds of detained migrants — most of whom are likely children — have reportedly been held in hotels outside the formal US detention system before immediate expulsion
- Hundreds of migrants — most of whom are thought to be children — have been held in major hotel chains before immediate expulsion under President Donald Trump's coronavirus-related border ban, The New York Times reported Sunday.
- Documents reviewed by The Times revealed at least 860 migrants were detained by immigration authorities in hotels across the US, including "a Quality Suites in San Diego, Hampton Inns in Phoenix, McAllen and El Paso, Texas, a Comfort Suites Hotel in Miami, a Best Western in Los Angeles and an Econo Lodge in Seattle."
- The Associated Press first reported last month that children as young as 1 year old were typically held in hotels for "several days" before being sent back to their home country or handed to child-welfare services in Mexico.
- The swift deportation procedures doesn't assign identification numbers to deported migrant children, however, making it difficult for parents to track down their children after they are expelled from the US.
- Trump's new border policy — introduced to deter illegal crossings during the pandemic — has contributed to the increase of hotel detentions in the past few months, according to data obtained by The Times.
- The border policy has led to the immediate expulsion of more than 100,000 migrants, The Times said, though it also may have actually prompted increases in attempts.
Hundreds of migrants — most of whom are thought to be children — have been held in hotels before immediate expulsion under President Donald Trump's coronavirus-related border ban, The New York Times reported Sunday.
Documents reviewed by The Times revealed that at least 860 migrants were detained by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement in hotels across the US, including "a Quality Suites in San Diego, Hampton Inns in Phoenix, McAllen and El Paso, Texas, a Comfort Suites Hotel in Miami, a Best Western in Los Angeles and an Econo Lodge in Seattle," according to the Times report.
The Times noted that hotel chains were not subject to formal policies meant to prevent "abuse in federal custody or those requiring that detainees be provided access to phones, healthy food, medical and mental-health care."
Trump's new border-closing policy — meant to deter illegal border crossings during the coronavirus pandemic — seems to have contributed to the increase of hotel detentions in the past few months, The Times said.
The border ban has led to the immediate expulsion of more than 100,000 migrants; though, The Times also said it appeared to have actually encouraged more crossings "in part because it eliminates some of the legal consequences for repeat attempts."
ICE contracted MVM Inc., a private security and transportation company, to assist in detaining the surge of migrants, according to the Times report.
The Associated Press first reported on hotel detentions of migrant children last month. Records obtained by the AP showed children as young as 1 year old typically being held in hotels for "several days" under the supervision of untrained transportation workers before being sent back to their home country or handed to child-welfare services in Mexico.
"A transportation vendor should not be in charge of changing the diaper of a 1-year-old, giving bottles to babies or dealing with the traumatic effects they might be dealing with," Andrew Lorenzen-Strait, a former ICE deputy assistant director who previously worked with MVM, told The Times. "I'm worried kids may be exposed to abuse, neglect, including sexual abuse, and we will have no idea."
Some children, however, are sent back without any identification numbers, making it close to impossible for parents to track down their children after they are sent back, The Times reported. Parents sometimes send their children to cross the border alone to increase their chances of being granted asylum in the US.
"They've created a shadow system in which there's no accountability for expelling very young children," Leecia Welch, an attorney at the nonprofit National Center for Youth Law, told the AP last month. "There really aren't enough words to describe what a disgraceful example of sacrificing children this is to advance heartless immigration policies."