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.
Migrants from Central America are detained by a U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agent after crossing into the United States from Mexico, in Sunland Park, New Mexico, U.S. July 15, 2021
© REUTERS / JOSE LUIS GONZALEZ
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.
Vice President Kamala Harris, left, and Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei, attend a news conference, Monday, June 7, 2021, at the National Palace in Guatemala City
© AP Photo / Jacquelyn Martin
During her first foreign trip to Guatemala since taking office, Harris spoke at a news conference on 7 June after meeting with Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei, adding:
"I want to be clear to folks in this region who are thinking about making that dangerous trek to the United States-Mexico border: Do not come. Do not come."
The US President reiterated the message, saying migrants "should not come", emphasising that his administration was trying to tackle the root causes of migration.
The number of families who have been subject to the Trump-era public health order has declined since March, according to CBP data, with the administration struggling to take in those migrants, relying on organisations along the border for processing.
In an effort to deal with the immigration court backlog, the White House said in late May that there were plans to speed up cases for recently arrived asylum-seeking migrant families. Court cases involving immigrants fighting deportation often drag on for months, if not years.
The new dedicated docket plan was to rolled out in immigration courts across ten cities: Denver, Detroit, El Paso, Los Angeles, Miami, Newark, New York City, San Diego, San Francisco, and Seattle. The courts will attempt to issue a decision in each case within 300 days of an initial hearing.
The plan applies to certain immigrant families who are apprehended after crossing the border on or after Friday, with migrants not detained but monitored by immigration officials as an alternative to the detention programme.
“Families arriving at the border who are placed in immigration proceedings should have their cases decided in an orderly, efficient, and fair manner,” Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas was cited as saying by BuzzFeed.
The situation at the southern border has remained tense for several months – the Biden administration has been criticised for its migrant policies, which involved reversing many of Trump’s tough migrant laws. A lot of the backlash has been targeted at Vice President Harris who is tasked with handling the border issue.
Former US President Trump adopted a much tougher approach, including building a wall on the border with Mexico and resisting illegal migration into the country.