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The Biden administration is preparing to open a new tent facility in Texas to detain migrants crossing the border, as authorities scramble to deal with the combination of rising numbers and challenges from COVID-19.
The facility is being opened in Eagle Pass, Texas, in the Del Rio area, a source familiar with the matter confirmed to Fox News. The soft-sided facility is being created in addition to a similar 185,000 square foot site in Donna, Texas, which opened earlier this month.
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The facilities, managed by Customs and Border Protection (CBP), are different from a center in Carrizo Springs, which has been reactivated to deal only with unaccompanied children (UAC) and is managed by health services and social (HHS).
In a statement, CBP said it was building the facility to “help accommodate the migrants in our custody.”
“There have always been fluctuations in the number of people we meet at the border, and we continue to adapt accordingly,” the statement said. “Since April 2020, CBP has seen an increase in Western Hemisphere border meetings due to deteriorating economic conditions brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic and natural disasters affecting the region.”
“Based on past experience, assessment of operational requirements and challenges due to the space restrictions of COVID-19, we need additional treatment facilities when we see an increasing number of encounters,” did he declare. and the orderly treatment of people at the border, temporary temporary facilities are sometimes required to meet operational needs that may arise as a result of increased encounters, especially in difficult circumstances. “
The Washington Post, which first reported on the new facility, reported that authorities are also considering opening additional facilities in Arizona, but plans are less advanced.
There has been an increase in the number of migrants moving to the border in recent weeks, amid a number of sweeping changes in Trump-era immigration and border security policies by the administration Biden.
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Recently, CBP began releasing migrant families in the United States, re-establishing the “catch and release” practice that was interrupted by the Trump administration.
CBP said three factors led to the decision to release families of illegal immigrants: an increase in migrant smuggling, especially Central American families and unaccompanied children; Mexico’s refusal to accept additional families with children under 12 in areas where migrant camps are growing larger, overwhelming shelters and services; and COVID-19, which has significantly reduced the detention and transport capacity of border patrols.
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The administration halted construction of the southern border wall and began welcoming migrants detained in Mexico under Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP). In addition, he sought to establish a moratorium on evictions.
Although this was blocked by a district judge in response to a lawsuit in Texas, the administration has meanwhile issued guidelines to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) that restrict priorities for arrests and deportations.
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The Biden administration is also under pressure from left-wing activists to end Title 42 restrictions that allow migrants to be quickly returned to their countries of origin due to the coronavirus pandemic. These restrictions do not apply to unaccompanied children.
However, the administration has yet to say it will, and officials of several ages have warned migrants that they should not flock to the border.
“In response to public health concerns and in accordance with the authority of the CDC, those apprehended at the border continue to be refused entry and are being returned,” an ICE spokesperson told Fox on Thursday. “Their return is made from the facilities of CBP and ICE.”
“Now is not the time to come to the southwestern border of the United States and try to enter the United States,” the spokesperson said. “COVID-related travel restrictions remain in place and will be enforced. It will take time to rebuild our asylum process.”
Republicans have been sounding the alarm bells for weeks about an upcoming border crisis, accusing Biden of restoring “pull factors” that encourage migrants to come north and of weakening systems put in place by the administration Trump to deal with the 2019 border crisis.
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Republicans in several houses accused the administration this week of creating a humanitarian crisis at the border by adopting a sweeping agenda.
“The far left’s insistence on undermining American sovereignty by erasing our nation’s borders is dangerous under normal circumstances,” said the letter, signed by 19 House Republicans led by Rep. Jim Banks, R- Ind. “Your administration’s adoption of the far-left immigration program creates a new humanitarian crisis at the border, drawing crowds of men, women and children.”
William LaJeunesse of Fox News contributed to this report.
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