Migrant children held in mass shelters with little oversight

[WhiskeyGrinder]

https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-immigration-health-coronavirus-pandemic-government-and-politics-3b4e480c9021e6a8e02313f4c73a497e

The Biden administration is holding tens of thousands of asylum-seeking children in an opaque network of some 200 facilities that The Associated Press has learned spans two dozen states and includes five shelters with more than 1,000 children packed inside.

Confidential data obtained by the AP shows the number of migrant children in government custody more than doubled in the past two months, and this week the federal government was housing around 21,000 kids, from toddlers to teens. A facility at Fort Bliss, a U.S. Army post in El Paso, Texas, had more than 4,500 children as of Monday. Attorneys, advocates and mental health experts say that while some shelters are safe and provide adequate care, others are endangering children’s health and safety.

“It’s almost like ‘Groundhog Day,’” said Southern Poverty Law Center attorney Luz Lopez, referring to the 1993 film in which events appear to be continually repeating. “Here we are back to a point almost where we started, where the government is using taxpayer money to build large holding facilities ... for children instead of using that money to find ways to more quickly reunite children with their sponsors.”

(snip)

HHS declined to say whether there are any legally enforceable standards for caring for children housed at the emergency sites or how they are being monitored. The Biden administration has allowed very limited access to news media once children are brought into facilities, citing the coronavirus pandemic and privacy restrictions.

RAICES is a great organization that helps provide legal representation to migrants families and can help reunite families more quickly. You can donate at the link.

[blm]

1. Not surprised. The immigration system was blown up over

the last 4years - intentionally.

[Hortensis]

3. Intentionally so that we wouldn't have the shelters Obama admin built.

It's unfortunate, but those who've made it into U.S. custody are incredibly better off now than when the trumpists were pushing them back at the border to suffer alone and be preyed on in refugee camps. Of course Mexico's own government and activists tried and did a lot, but were overwhelmed.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

2. Kick.

[Hortensis]

4. # of children held in by US CPB dropped 88% between late March and late April.

These are the 12% that haven't yet been moved on to relatives in the U.S. or home countries, foster care, better facilities.

It's happening. It's not the job of advocates for immigrants to encourage complaisance, not when thousands of children are still waiting in detention facilities instead of settling into homes and attending pre-K, high school, etc.

[uponit7771]

5. APs numbers are wrong, they point to an article from April 8th the number of held children has ...

... falling 88% since that article.

Sloppy assed reporting