Trump Administration Detaining More Immigrant Children in Hotels

HOUSTON, KOMPAS.com - The Trump administration is increasingly using hotels to detain immigrant children as young as one before expelling them from the US during the coronavirus pandemic.

The US President’s tactic has faced outcry from lawmakers and human rights advocates.

A total of 577 unaccompanied immigrant children were detained in hotels through the end of July by federal authorities.

The figure is up from 240 in April, May, and June, according to a published report from a court-appointed monitor for detained immigrant youth.

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The Associated Press reported on the practice last month, with the Trump administration citing the threat of the virus in rapidly expelling those children and other migrants under an emergency declaration that denies them a chance to seek asylum.

Keeping kids in hotels circumvents federal anti-trafficking laws and a two-decade-old court settlement, and advocates have warned of potential mistreatment.

Meanwhile, new allegations have emerged of efforts at the hotels to skirt health precautions.

An immigrant from Haiti says government contractors at a hotel where he was detained gave his family, including his one-year-old daughter, cups of ice to eat to pass temperature checks before their deportation flight, though they had tested negative for Covid-19.

“We were given them with only one instruction, to eat them to lower our temperature,” Verty told the AP last week.

He’s being identified only by his last name because he fears retribution if he tries to come to the US again.

US Immigration and Customs Enforcement guidelines say no detainee with a temperature above 99 degrees (37 degrees Celsius) can board a deportation flight — a way to protect against the spread of Covid-19, which often causes a fever.

In a statement, the agency said it “does not seek to alter an individual’s temperature through artificial cooling measures”.

The Trump administration has defended expelling more than 100,000 adults and children, saying the practice is necessary to protect border agents and stop the virus from spreading.

It has effectively shut down the asylum system during the pandemic, which opponents of President Donald Trump say is being used as a pretext to implement long-sought restrictions on immigration.