The Biden Administration is Scrapping a Trump Policy that Connected Immigration Enforcement with efforts to find U.S.-based Family Members to House Children who Crossed the Southern Border.
This comes as the U.S. has a Record 3,500 Children sitting in Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) Custody as of earlier this week, and as another 8,500 have been Housed while Awaiting Placement with Relatives or Sponsors.
The 2018 Agreement allowed Data sharing between the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), which is Charged for Caring with Children taken into Custody after Crossing the Border.
Administration Officials said the move was designed to Stem the "chilling effect" that left Sponsors in Fear of coming forward to House Children lest they be Deported.
"There will not be immigration consequences for coming forward and taking care of these kids," an administration official said.
"We are a child care agency, we are not an immigration enforcement agency," another Official added, referring to the role HHS plays in the Immigration System. "This makes it really clear that this administration prioritizes uniting a child with their family member or sponsor."
Parts of the Memorandum had already been Rescinded either through Government Directives or Legal Challenges, making the move at least partly Symbolic. Still, Administration Officials maintained it would have a meaningful effect as the Government seeks to Expedite the Process of Identifying and Vetting potential Sponsors for Children being held at the Border.
The Announcement came as Biden Officials largely Doubled down on their Messaging of recent weeks about the Growing Challenge at the Southern Border, where Thousands of Migrants are Crossing each week and Thousands of Children are being Held in Border Patrol Facilities.
HHS is working to add Hundreds of Beds each week to Accommodate the Surge in Migration. White House Press Secretary, Jen Psaki, said on Tuesday, that the Administration is looking at New Facilities to house the Unaccompanied Children.
The White House does Not intend to Request Supplemental Funding from Congress to Deal with the Current surge, however, Officials said.
Administration Officials have come under Scrutiny for their Refusal to Disclose exactly how many Migrants are being held in Government Care and for Declining to deem the Situation a Crisis. Republicans have seized on the situation, arguing that President Biden's Rhetoric and Swift Reversal of Trump's Hardline Immigration Policies invited a Surge in Migration.
"This is not a political issue anymore. It's becoming a national security concern," House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA, 22nd District) said Thursday.
But Officials insisted they Inherited a Dire situation made Worse by the Policies of the Trump Administration and Pleaded for Patience as they seek to address Root Causes of Migration from Central America and Rebuild the U.S. Immigration System. "The Biden administration inherited a broken immigration system that was exacerbated by the prior administration," One Official said. "Change will not happen overnight but there is a roadmap from the president."
Biden Officials have repeatedly said now is Not the time for Migrants to Trek to the U.S. Border, and the vast Majority of Migrants crossing the Border are still being Expelled under, Title 42 Policy, a Trump-era Order that allows Swift Deportation in the name of COVID-19.
NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote! Michael H. Drucker
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