Bit of good news for migrants

Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents were instructed Thursday to begin taking additional steps to ensure that they are not unintentionally separating parents from their children at the southern border or when making arrests inside the country.

  NBC

Or intentionally, I hope.

A memo by acting ICE Director Tae Johnson, which was obtained by NBC News, instructs agents to “affirmatively inquire” about the relationship between migrants and minors they are crossing the border with, and to update the migrants’ files with that information.

The new procedures are the latest in a series of steps the Biden administration has taken to ensure that the separation of migrant families, which was done systematically by the Trump administration in 2017 and 2018, does not happen again.

Doesn't sound like much of an assurance.

The GOP is running America off the rails

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

Journalists allowed into detention facilities

With thousands of children and families arriving at the US-Mexico border in recent weeks and packing facilities, President Joe Biden has been under pressure to bring more transparency to the process. US Customs and Border Protection allowed two journalists from The Associated Press news agency and a crew from CBS to tour the facility in Donna, Texas, in the Rio Grande Valley on Tuesday.

[...]

The Biden administration has for the first time allowed journalists inside its main border detention facility for migrant children, revealing a severely overcrowded tent structure where more than 4,000 migrants, including children and families, were crammed into pods and the youngest kept in a large playpen with mats on the floor for sleeping.

  alJazeera

So, no change then. Except now the wire cages have been traded for a kiddie jail.

The facility has a capacity of 250 but more than 4,100 people were being housed on the property on Tuesday. Most were unaccompanied children processed in tents before being taken to shelters run by the Department of Health and Human Services and then placed with a family member, relative or sponsor.

[...]

On Tuesday, journalists watched children being processed. They went into a small room for lice inspection and a health check. Their hair was hosed down and towels were tossed in a black bin marked “Lice”. The minors — many of whom have made long journeys to get to the border, including stretches on foot — were also checked for scabies, fever and other ailments. No COVID-19 test was administered unless a child showed symptoms.

Nurse practitioners also gave psychological tests, asking children if they had suicidal thoughts. All shoelaces were removed to avoid harm to anyone.

The children were then led down a green turf hall to a large intake room. Those 14 and older are fingerprinted and have their photos taken; younger children did not.

Prison processing.

Then they were taken to a second intake room where they got notices to appear for immigration court. Border Patrol agents asked them if they had a contact in the US and allowed the child to speak with them by phone.

Children were given bracelets with a barcode that shows the history of when they showered and medical conditions

Not a good look

(DHS) Secretary Alejandro] Mayorkas and a group of bipartisan senators will travel to El Paso, Texas, to view Customs and Border Protection (CBP) operations and to receive a briefing on how unaccompanied minors are being processed, transferred and sheltered.

In a statement, DHS said the visit would be closed to the press due to “privacy and COVID-19 precautions.”

[...]

The White House has faced growing frustration from journalists and refugee advocates seeking access to the CBP facilities in order to assess the living conditions.

[...]

The Biden administration is turning away adult migrants, but the decision to allow unaccompanied minors to stay in the country as their immigration status is processed has created a strain on the system and provoked worries about the well-being of children in U.S. custody.

Thousands of children are being kept in CBP cells meant for adults for days longer than is legally allowed. Mayorkas has called the facilities “no place for a child.”

[...]

White House press secretary Jen Psaki said this week the administration would make members of the envoy that briefed Biden available to the press at some point. She said the White House would consider ways to allow for “a pool of media to be able to have your own videos or get your own footage of these facilities.”

“We remain committed to transparency and are considering potential options and we hope to have an update soon,” Psaki said.

  The Hill

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.