The administration of President Joe Biden continues to grapple with a growing tide of migrant families arriving at the US-Mexico border, with Border Patrol apprehending more than 50,000 migrant families in June, up from 40,815 in May, according to US Customs and Border Protection data.
Deportations for some migrant families who cross the US-Mexico border amid what the current administration persistently refuses to acknowledge as a “crisis” will be fast-tracked, according to a statement by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
“Certain family units who are not able to be expelled under Title 42 will be placed in expedited removal proceedings. Expedited removal provides a lawful, more accelerated procedure to remove those family units who do not have a basis under U.S. law to be in the United States,” says the DHS statement.
The procedure, created back in 1996, allows immigration authorities to remove an individual without a hearing before an immigration judge, which is often a lengthy process.
The tool will now apply to families who are not expelled under the pandemic-related public health border policy dating to the administration of former President Donald Trump, known as Title 42.
These expulsions are the US government removing people who have recently been in a country where a “communicable disease was present.” During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Trump Administration resorted to this provision to prevent land entry for many migrants. The administration of the ex-president’s successor is now continuing the programme, despite Democrats earlier repeatedly criticising Trump for his “relentless” migrant policies.
“Attempting to cross into the United States between ports of entry, or circumventing inspection at ports of entry, is the wrong way to come to the United States. These acts are dangerous and can carry long-term immigration consequences for individuals who attempt to do so,” reads the statement issued by the DHS on Monday.
It adds that the Biden-Harris administration is working to “build a safe, orderly, and humane immigration system.”
Arrests of migrant families have surged in recent months in the US. In June, Border Patrol apprehended over 50,000 migrant families, which is a significant increase from the 40,815 detained in May, according to US Customs and Border Protection data.
Brian Hastings, the Border Patrol chief in the Rio Grande Valley, went on Twitter to cite “skyrocketing” apprehensions of more than 20,000 migrants in just a week in the valley.
The continuing border crisis was touched upon by Joe Biden during a CNN town hall in Cincinnati, Ohio, six months since he took the oath on January 20.
Biden was questioned about the “don’t come” message Vice President Kamala Harris set out to migrants.
