Democrat President Joe Biden is reportedly putting migrant children in detention facilities that resemble prisons and is separating the children for weeks on end—both issues that Democrats and the media used to attack former President Donald Trump during Trump’s presidency.
“The number of unaccompanied migrant children detained along the southern border has tripled in the last two weeks to more than 3,250, filling facilities akin to jails as the Biden administration struggles to find room for them in shelters,” The New York Times reported.
“The children are being held in facilities, managed by the Customs and Border Protection agency, that were built for adults. The border agency has been the subject of widespread criticism for the horrific conditions in its federal detention facilities, in which children are exposed to disease, hunger and overcrowding.”
The news comes after Axios reported late last week that the Biden administration was allowing the facilities to operate at 100% capacity to meet the demand of the huge surge in illegal immigration taking place on the southern border. The centers were previously allowed to only operate at 50% capacity to adhere to social distancing guidelines.
USA Today reported over the weekend that Biden was “still sheltering children separated from close family members in federal facilities for weeks on end – something immigrant advocates and attorneys had hoped the new administration would resolve by now.” The report noted in its headline that children were being “being separated from relatives for weeks” under Biden.
“The migrant children often arrive with a grandparent, older sibling or other relative but are separated until federal officials can confirm the accompanying adult is their relative, as required under U.S. law,” the report stated. “But it also classifies the youngsters as ‘unaccompanied minors’ and places them in federal shelters until a sponsor or adult is vetted, a process that can take several weeks or even months.”
The policy is different than the Trump administration’s “zero tolerance” policy. Trump ended up signing an executive order that changed the policy so that “families are expected to be kept together, even if a parent faces prosecution for breaking immigration laws,” according to PolitiFact.
The Washington Examiner reported late last week that multiple sources familiar with the matter said that the Biden administration was considering changing the names of the facilities to “reception centers” because it sounded less harsh.
“The name would distinguish the facilities, one of which has been set up in Carrizo Springs, Texas, from existing structures maintained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Department of Health and Human Services’s Office of Refugee Resettlement,” the report said. “Images of one such Border Patrol facility led to criticism that President Donald Trump held children in ‘cages.’ Often, other such buildings are called ‘detention centers’ or ‘holding facilities.’”