News / Politics

Biden mulls reimposing quick deportations of migrant families: Reports

Tuesday, 01 June 2021 6:40 AM [ Last Update: Tuesday, 01 June 2021 7:00 AM ]

A US Border Patrol agent loads detained migrants into a van at the border of the United States and Mexico. (Photo by Getty Images)

US President Joe Biden's administration is mulling reimposing a harsh immigration policy known as expedited removal to quickly deport families which illegally crossed the border from Mexico.

"A variety of options are always under review and under consideration to build a fair and orderly immigration system," a White House official told told online news site Axios.

The Department of Homeland Security will consider the policy this week.

US media said if the immigration policy is reimplemented, it will likely face resistance from some progressive immigration groups.

Over 17,500 migrant families were sent back to Mexico during the Trump era under the expedited removal, which allows for an easier and quicker deportation of migrants without needing to go through a court process.

When Biden assumed office in January, he vowed to unwind a series restrictions imposed on immigration by Trump.

The US president issued a flurry of immigration-related executive decisions after he assumed office, including orders to end “extreme immigration enforcement”, and to preserve and fortify the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which gives work permits and protection from deportation to people brought illegally to the US as minors.

The decision led to an influx of refugees and migrant children from South and Central America to the southern US border in recent weeks, forcing the authorities to recognize the situation on the south border as a crisis.

“It’s like the Walking Dead”: Migrant children held under dangerous conditions in Texas

There is a vast network of detention sites across the US, holding more than 20,000 migrant children, who have complained of cold temperatures, sickness, neglect, lice and filth, among other issues.

The Biden administration has been sharply criticized by both fellow Democrats and Republicans for its handling of the refugee crisis at the border and failing to provide proper facilities with adequate facilities to the migrant children, exposing them to various dangers.

More than 4,300 unaccompanied children who crossed the US-Mexico border are being held at a makeshift detention center in Texas under distressing conditions.

Biden's order to use Trump-era detainment facilities to house migrant children – which Democrats would often use to accuse Trump of putting “kids in cages” – has also drawn sharp criticism.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott has blamed President Biden for the deepening humanitarian crisis at the border with Mexico.

Abbott said children held at a facility in the city of San Antonio were being “sexually assaulted”, saying the reports about the same were “very credible.”

The Texas governor said Biden’s “open border policy” led to the border crisis, calling for him “to shut down the facility immediately.”