Camilo Montoya-Galvez Profile picture
Sep 13, 2020 10 tweets 3 min read Read on X
The scope of the Trump admin.'s COVID policy of expelling migrant children, without affording them humanitarian protections enshrined in US law, was revealed Friday.

8,800 minors apprehended without adult family members have been expelled since March. 1/
cbsnews.com/news/8800-migr…
In addition to 8,800 unaccompanied minors, 7,600 members of migrant families with children were also expelled by border officials.

In total, 159,000 expulsions have been carried under this indefinite pandemic policy, which was authorized by CDC Director Robert Redfield. 2/
How big of a shift is this? US law allows border-crossers to fight their deportation by requesting asylum.

The Trump admin. has worked to restrict asylum for 3 + years, arguing it is abused. But it has never been able to summarily expel migrants—let alone children—until now. 3/
Migrant kids have extra legal safeguards.

A Bush-era law requires officials to transfer most unaccompanied children to the US refugee agency, which works to release them to US sponsors / family members

Unlike adults, they can request asylum via a non-adversarial process. 4/
In addition to asylum, migrant children can obtain US refuge through visas for neglected, abused or abandoned minors.

All minors—both unaccompanied & those with parents—are protected under the Flores court settlement. Families are not supposed to be detained for 20 + days. 5/
The Trump admin (and to some extent, the Obama admin) has argued these safeguards encourage unauthorized migration, particularly from Central America.

Advocates say these asylum and anti-trafficking protections are critical for migrants fleeing violence, especially children. 6/
Now, citing the need to contain coronavirus, the Trump admin. has been able to suspend these safeguards for most. It argues they're superseded by public health law during a pandemic.

Despite authorizing it, the CDC has said little about this policy and faced little scrutiny. 7/
The Trump admin. is telling federal courts that allowing migrant children to stay in the US while their cases are adjudicated would overburden US refugee agency shelters and ICE family detention centers, making it harder to contain the coronavirus inside these facilities. 8/
Advocates like @L_Toczylowski say there are safe ways to allow children to seek US refuge.

"To find out that our gov't has literally taken children who are seeking protection and sent them back to the very places they fled in such high numbers really took my breath away." 9/
In 1 month, a CDC rule will take effect codifying its authority to give US immigration officials the power to bypass protections for asylum-seekers and migrant children during a pandemic.

Keep following @CBSNews. We'll continue to cover this policy. end/
cbsnews.com/news/8800-migr…

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More from @camiloreports

Jun 24
NEWS: ICE is detaining 59,000 detainees in facilities across the US, likely a record high, internal figures obtained by CBS News show.

ICE is at over 140% of its congressionally funded detention capacity.

Nearly half of detainees lack criminal records.
cbsnews.com/news/ice-recor…
The 59,000 level tops the previous peak in 2019, when the first Trump administration held as many as 55,000 immigrants in ICE detention.

Historical data gathered by the Marshall Project suggests the 59,000 figure is the highest in the history of U.S. immigration detention
The federal statistics show nearly half — or 47% — of those currently detained by ICE lack a criminal record and fewer than 30% have been convicted of crimes, a sign of the widening scope of President Trump's escalating crackdown on illegal immigration.
Read 5 tweets
Mar 21
The Trump administration will be revoking the legal status of hundreds of thousands of migrants welcomed into the U.S. under a Biden-era sponsorship process, urging them to self-deport or face arrest and removal by deportation agents.

CBS News first reported this plan on Feb. 1.
DHS said it will seek the arrest and deportation of those subject to the policy change if they fail to depart the U.S. in the next 30 das.

Officials are urging migrants to use the newly repurposed CBP Home smartphone app to register for self-deportation.
But DHS said it retains the authority to target migrants who arrived under this program before the 30-day period lapses.

Officials say those prioritized for arrest will include migrants who have failed to apply for another immigration benefit like asylum or a green card.
Read 4 tweets
Mar 20
Exclusive: CBS News has obtained an internal U.S. government list of the Venezuelan men the Trump administration deported to El Salvador as part of a secretive operation that has triggered a legal standoff and global debate.

We have published their names.
cbsnews.com/news/venezuela…
Here’s what we know:

- 137 of the 238 Venezuelans sent to El Salvador were deported under the 1798 Alien Enemies Act.

- The other 101 were deported under immigration law.

- The Trump admin. says they’re all linked to the Tren de Aragua gang, an accusation relatives dispute.
We also know that the U.S. government has said in a court declaration that while some of those expelled to El Salvador have criminal records, "many" do not.

Beyond that, the U.S. government has provided very few details to the public and the judge overseeing this case.
Read 6 tweets
Mar 15
BREAKING: Federal judge James Boasberg says during a hearing that he will issue an order blocking the Trump administration from deporting “all noncitizens in U.S. custody who are subject” to President Trump’s Alien Enemies Act proclamation.
Remarkably, Boasberg appeared to say that any deportation flights in the air with migrants subject to this order on board should be returned to the U.S.
Lee Gelernt, the ACLU lawyer leading this lawsuit tells me, “We are the thrilled the judge recognized the severe harm our plaintiffs would face if removed. The President’s use of the Alien Enemies Act is flat out lawless.”
Read 5 tweets
Feb 23
EXCLUSIVE — CBS News has obtained internal Trump administration plans to revive Title 42 and expel migrants on public health grounds.

The first Trump administration cited COVID. Now it’s made plans to label migrants vectors of diseases like tuberculosis.
cbsnews.com/news/trump-tit…
The internal documents obtained by CBS News show the Trump administration has prepared plans to invoke Title 42 to empower officials to swiftly expel migrants without any of the processing outlined in federal immigration law, which says those on U.S. soil can request asylum.
The documents indicate the CDC is planning to issue an order that would label unauthorized migrants trying to enter the U.S. as public health risks, citing concerns that they could spread diseases like tuberculosis.

Border officials would be tasked with enforcing the order.
Read 4 tweets
Jan 22
EXCLUSIVE — U.S. border agents have been directed to summarily deport migrants crossing into the country illegally, without allowing them to request asylum, in accordance with President Trump's orders, according to internal documents and officials.
cbsnews.com/news/trump-dep…
Just hours after being sworn in, Mr. Trump invoked sweeping presidential authorities to bar the entry of migrants deemed to be participating in an "invasion" of the U.S., as well as those who may pose a public health or national security risk.
He cited a law known as 212(f) that allows presidents to suspend the entry of foreigners whose entry is deemed to be "detrimental" to the U.S.

Internal documents indicate that, as of Tuesday, the president's "full" 212(f) authority was being implemented across the Texas border.
Read 6 tweets

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