Trump imposes rule allowing U.S. to detain migrant families indefinitely

[webfact]

Trump imposes rule allowing U.S. to detain migrant families indefinitely

By Andy Sullivan and Mica Rosenberg

 

FILE PHOTO: Children walk inside an enclosure, where they are being held by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), after crossing the border between Mexico and the United States illegally and turning themselves in to request asylum, in El Paso, Texas, U.S., March 29, 2019. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson/File Photo

 

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Trump administration on Wednesday unveiled a rule that allows officials to detain migrant families indefinitely while judges consider whether to grant them asylum in the United States, abolishing a previous 20-day limit.

 

The rule, which is certain to draw a legal challenge, would replace a 1997 court settlement that limits the amount of time U.S. immigration authorities can detain migrant children. That agreement is generally interpreted as meaning families must be released within 20 days.

 

It was the Republican administration's third major regulation restricting immigration in little more than a month, all during an unsettled period when senior immigration officials hold "acting" titles lacking U.S. Senate confirmation.

 

Trump has made cracking down on legal and illegal immigration a hallmark of his presidency after campaigning in 2016 on a promise, so far unfulfilled, that Mexico would pay for a border wall to keep migrants from entering the United States.

 

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security on Wednesday announced plans to withdraw from a court settlement limiting the government's ability to detain immigrant children beyond 20 days, saying it would hope to detain families longer and expedite their claims in custody. Zachary Goelman reports.

 

In what would be another attempt to dismantle established immigration law, Trump told reporters on Wednesday his administration was seriously looking at ending the right of citizenship for children born to non-citizens within the United States.

 

Immigration officials are looking for any kind of deterrent to reverse a record surge in families fleeing violence and poverty in Central America. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials say they have caught or rejected 475,000 family members in the past 10 months, more than three times any previous full year.

 

On July 15 the administration unveiled a rule to bar almost all immigrants from applying for asylum at the southern border, and on Aug. 12 it announced regulation denying visas and permanent residency for those who fail to make enough money.

 

Multiple lawsuits were filed within days of the two previous immigration rules.

 

Legal challenges have held up many of Trump's initiatives, but immigration advocates say he has managed to build an "invisible wall" through executive actions bypassing Congress.

 

The administration framed the policy as a humane approach to a crisis.

 

"To protect these children from abuse, and stop this illegal flow, we must close these loopholes. This is an urgent humanitarian necessity," Trump said in a statement.

 

Critics counter that Trump and Stephen Miller, his aide on immigration, are using a series of heartless policies to animate hard-core political supporters.

 

"The administration is seeking to codify child abuse, plain and simple," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat, said in a statement, adding that she expected a federal judge would strike down the new rule.

 

Paediatricians have said children may suffer numerous negative physical and emotional symptoms from detention, even if only brief. The American Psychoanalytic Association on Wednesday branded the Trump policies as "psychological warfare."

 

"It has become clear that the current administration uses cruel language, policies and abuse with the objective of deterring immigrants and asylum seekers," said Lee Jaffe, president of APsaA.

 

Officials said the families would receive mental health treatment and other services in facilities that are held to high standards of care.

 

"They're campus-like settings with educational, medical, dining and separate, private living facilities," acting Homeland Security Secretary Kevin McAleenan told Fox News.

 

Robyn Barnard, an attorney for the nonprofit organization Human Rights First, challenged that characterization, saying that just because a facility is in a pastoral setting does not make it more humane.

 

"A gilded cage is still a cage," Barnard said. "There are locks on the doors, there is no freedom of movement. It is for all intents and purposes a prison."

 

FLORES SETTLEMENT

The latest action tears apart the Flores Settlement Agreement that had placed limits on how long children of families seeking asylum could be held in detention, enabling the U.S. government to release tens of thousands of families pending the resolution of their cases.

 

Trump officials had blamed Flores for the spike in immigration, especially of Central American families, saying it encouraged migrants to bring children with them so they could be released into the United States pending their court cases.

 

Families typically wait several months for their cases to work their way through immigration court, and the new rule would allow the DHS to keep those families at detention facilities.

 

The rule will be published in the Federal Register on Friday and will take effect 60 days later. The implementation deadline could slip, however, depending on the success of the court challenges.

 

(Reporting by Andy Sullivan in Washington and Mica Rosenberg in New York; Writing by Daniel Trotta; Editing by Dan Grebler, Howard Goller and Lisa Shumaker)

 

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2019-08-22

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[pegman]

Locking up Latino kids. That should go over good with Hispanic voters in  Colorado, Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, California,…… 

[Tug]

So let’s se it costs 770$per head per day to keep thease folks humm let me see an immigration judge costs how much per day why not flood the system with judges clear the back log deport the fakes protect the true asylum seekers save money stop creating enemies and disgracing the country?

[Chomper Higgot]

It will be defeated in the courts, but that’s not the point.

 

He’s telegraphing cruelty and racism to the racist and white supremicists in his base.

 

His post El Paso speech long dead empty words.

[daoyai]

It may help as a deterrent to migrants using the old strategy of being released into the general population and never showing for their hearing... real refugees will probably welcome the safety and security of the facility while awaiting their verdict. 

[stevenl]

The main problem is he is trying to stop them at the door, while his aid policies are attracting them. Local aid should be given to prevent them from coming, but these programs have been stopped by Trump.

[Emdog]

If they are going to be held as prisoners or slaves, put them to work to help pay the cost of keeping them in the land of the free

It was something of a joke line when I was a kid "The South will rise again!"

Looks like those values have floated back up in toilet bowl that needs to be drained, aka Trump administration

[Chomper Higgot]

1 hour ago, daoyai said:

It may help as a deterrent to migrants using the old strategy of being released into the general population and never showing for their hearing... real refugees will probably welcome the safety and security of the facility while awaiting their verdict. 

‘Welcome the safety’ you say:

 

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/27/us/immigrant-children-sexual-abuse.html

[nobodysfriend]

It looks like Trump's construction company is building all the new prisons needed ...?

[Paul Henry]

Flores to blame,says Trump Administration,well its not the Democrates fault this time.The bible of names and people Trump and his administration blame for every <deleted> up that they create by now must be bigger than the encyclopedia Britanica and still growing.

[Dumbastheycome]

So in these concentration  camps  will the prisoners be provided meaningful occupational activities such as  manufacturing  MAGA   hats?

[Sujo]

He ran on a platform of stopping the illegals.

 

3 years in, is it better or worse?

[daoyai]

1 hour ago, Sujo said:

He ran on a platform of stopping the illegals.

 

3 years in, is it better or worse?

It seems to be improving, when word reached Central America that a strong Patron was taking U.S. law seriously they decided to rush the gates and flood the system before the reforms were enforced. Since Mexico has decided to cooperate and word has reached the source countries the numbers have decreased dramatically... good job Donald, stay on course.

[Sujo]

31 minutes ago, daoyai said:

It seems to be improving, when word reached Central America that a strong Patron was taking U.S. law seriously they decided to rush the gates and flood the system before the reforms were enforced. Since Mexico has decided to cooperate and word has reached the source countries the numbers have decreased dramatically... good job Donald, stay on course.

Improving compared to what?

 

Is it better or worse than when he started?

[jany123]

7 hours ago, webfact said:

Trump told reporters on Wednesday his administration was seriously looking at ending the right of citizenship for children born to non-citizens within the United States.

Ah.... darft trump, the force is strong in these, return them to the cosmos where they can be as one

 

this guy’s a <deleted>.

[Bluespunk]

16 minutes ago, jany123 said:

Ah.... darft trump, the force is strong in these, return them to the cosmos where they can be as one

 

this guy’s a <deleted>.

Yep, as this also proves

 

Trump accuses Jewish Democrat voters of 'great disloyalty' https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-49417157

 

 

[allen303]

7 hours ago, Chomper Higgot said:

It will be defeated in the courts, but that’s not the point.

 

He’s telegraphing cruelty and racism to the racist and white supremicists in his base.

 

His post El Paso speech long dead empty words.

Great, four post in and we already have the old (you’re a racist, you’re a white supremacist). I bet that holds the record for all topics on here today. That TDS kicking in early today girls. Take your meds!

[Harveyg]

Question:  do any of you know of a fair minded analysis of US foreign policy over decades that may have caused unstable conditions in many countries from the southern border all the way down?  The conclusion being perhaps that the US is significantly responsible for the present mess?  I never hear this being discussed. Not relevant?  I doubt it. 

[Harveyg]

4 hours ago, allen303 said:

A concentration camp, where you volunteer to turn yourself in and one that you can walk out anytime you like and go home. Where you get far better health care and food then where you came from. All paid for by the good old USA Tax Payer. I bet the Jewish people would have love that option back in the day.

I was going to reply to the post but just shrugged and thought, Jesus what’s the use?  People throw words around to emphasize their point with no respect for the words they’re using  with the intention of inflaming, or helping to make their point.  Actually it’s ironic that in the course of seeking to encourage human rights, some others were undervalued. Thx. 

[Harveyg]

17 minutes ago, Harveyg said:

Question:  do any of you know of a fair minded analysis of US foreign policy over decades that may have caused unstable conditions in many countries from the southern border all the way down?  The conclusion being perhaps that the US is significantly responsible for the present mess?  I never hear this being discussed. Not relevant?  I doubt it. 

Let me put this another way. If one wants to dig deeper into the conditions that have resulted in immigration from the south, would US complicity (influence peddling, raiding of natural resources, corporate backroom deals/corruption, ...) be found to have a significant contribution to the present situation?

If so, it significantly reframes the situation as the US as an innocent victim of illegal or asylum seeking immigration. 

[jany123]

1 hour ago, Harveyg said:

Question:  do any of you know of a fair minded analysis of US foreign policy over decades that may have caused unstable conditions in many countries from the southern border all the way down?  The conclusion being perhaps that the US is significantly responsible for the present mess?  I never hear this being discussed. Not relevant?  I doubt it. 

 

1 hour ago, Harveyg said:

Let me put this another way. If one wants to dig deeper into the conditions that have resulted in immigration from the south, would US complicity (influence peddling, raiding of natural resources, corporate backroom deals/corruption, ...) be found to have a significant contribution to the present situation?

If so, it significantly reframes the situation as the US as an innocent victim of illegal or asylum seeking immigration. 

Yes... this perspective is often discussed (both economic exploitation and CIA interference) and in the opinion of some, it is extremely relevant.

 

the US broke it... but refuse to own it.

[Scott]

Off-topic posts and replies removed.

 

As far as the number of crossings, it remains to be seen whether they are higher or lower.  Historically, during the hot summer months, the number of people crossing the border has decreased dramatically.   Whether the numbers have been significantly slowed, we won't really know until Oct-Nov. when cooler weather prevails.  

I suspect that with Mexico's direct involvement the numbers will be significantly lower.   At least the large caravans will not be allowed to form.   Whether or not this results in an 'underground rail road' of sorts, remains to be seen.