US holding record number of unaccompanied child migrants in detention centres beyond legal limit

A migrant child hoping to seek asylum in the US, photographed in Matamoros, Mexico last month

Credit: Reuters

A record number of unaccompanied migrant children are being held in US detention cells beyond the legal three-day limit, prompting fierce criticism of Joe Biden’s new administration. 

The number of teenagers and children crossing the US-Mexico border without their parents has risen rapidly in recent weeks and threatens Mr Biden’s pledge to implement a more humane approach to asylum seekers than his predecessor. 

More than 8,5000 minors are reportedly being housed in government shelters as they wait to be processed, according to data seen by the Washington Post. 

A further 3,500 are being held in US border facilities while they wait for beds in those shelters to become available. 

The border detention centres facilities were built to house adults for short periods of time, and are made of steel and concrete cells which critics say are unfit to hold children. 

Joe Biden came to office vowing to end Trump's migration policies

Credit: AFP

The legal limit of holding children in the centres is 72 hours, but data seen by the Washington Post suggests that young migrants are currently spending an average of 107 hours while they wait to be transferred to an appropriate shelter.

The holding facilities are often cramped and uncomfortable. 

Troy Miller, the acting head of the Customs and Border Patrol agency, said those housed at the stations have full access to meals and medical care, as well as showers every 48 hours.

“I myself have a 6-year-old, and these Border Patrol agents go above and beyond every single day to take care of the children,” he said.

The largest number of unaccompanied minors held this way during the Trump administration is thought to be around 2,600 in June 2019. 

Mr Biden quickly reversed many Trump-era immigration policies, promising to introduce a more "humane" system for migrants and asylum seekers.

White House press sec. Jen Psaki: "We don't take our advice or counsel from former Pres. Trump on immigration policy." https://t.co/1HNaYKMLWt pic.twitter.com/37K8Owu9TX

— Evan McMurry (@evanmcmurry) March 5, 2021

But the huge increase in minors arriving at the border appears to have caught the Biden administration under prepared, with officials scrambling to ease coronavirus-related capacity restrictions on the shelters and free up bed space. 

The influx poses a huge challenge for Mr Biden, with progressives within his party denouncing a move to reopening an emergency migrant holding shelter that was used under Donald Trump and Republicans arguing the new president’s rollback of hard-line policies have encouraged illegal immigration. 

"I’m bitterly disappointed. I expected more from [Biden’s] administration," Linda Brandmiller, a Texas-based lawyer who represents unaccompanied minors, told The Telegraph. "These kids deserve better. I don’t know where the outrage is from people who were vocal when Trump was doing the same thing."

Jen Psaki, the White House press secretary, Thursday said the administration recognised there had been a "large flow of children across the border" and was working to get the young people into "safe homes».  

Ms Psaki said: "These border patrol facilities are not made for children. We are focused on expediting the time they spend there."

But Ms Psaki refuted the suggestion the administration had an "open borders policy" during a press briefing. 

"The vast majority of people who come to our border are turned away, the statistics bear that out," she said.