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Hundreds of migrant detained children have been displaced in the middle of the night in recent weeks, from shelters regulated to a tent city located in western Texas, where conditions are far worse. Children who had been detained in private shelters or shelters all over the country – where they shared a room with probably a few other children – had been educated and received regular visits from legal representatives – were forced to in this crossing. -country travels, and often without warning.
"In rows of sand-colored tents in Tornillo, Texas, children in groups of 20, separated by sex, sleep in bunks," the New York Times reported. "There is no school: children receive notebooks that they have no obligation to complete.L'access to legal services is limited."
Offshoring is the result of the larger population of migrant children in prison and the fact that the federal government is struggling to find a place to house them. Last May, the number of migrant children detained was 2,400. Less than a year and a half later, this number has increased five-fold to more than 13,000.
Last month, the Department of Health and Social Services indicated that to fund the growth of the population of migrant children in prison, millions of dollars would be spent on cancer research, HIV / AIDS care,
However, the number of migrant children in custody has not only reached unprecedented highs, but the average length of stay of a child in government custody has also doubled. The population of accommodation centers has almost reached full capacity since May and more than 1,600 migrant children have already been displaced from shelter centers in Tornillo, according to the Times.
"The Tornillo camp operates as a small pop-up town, about 35 miles southeast of El Paso, on the Mexican border, with portable toilets." Air-conditioned tents of different sizes are used for housing , recreation and medical care. "the Times reported. "Initially opened in June for 30 days with a capacity of 400, it was expanded in September to accommodate 3,800 people and should now remain open at least until the end of the year."
There were about 100 homes where migrant children were housed and controlled by the child protection authorities, but the Tornillo Tent City is not regulated and follows the guidelines of the health and safety services. human services.
Shelter workers told The Times that it was now commonplace to move children at night without warning to prevent them from fleeing.
The Department of Health and Social Services, which oversees the care of migrant children in detention, continues to blame the "broken" immigration system of the United States for this growing population (and what some perceive as poorly cared for) .
"In the past, it is common to use influx shelters as on military bases, and the intention is to use these temporary facilities as long as necessary," said a spokeswoman for the Department of Social Services . "The number of unaccompanied unaccompanied foreign families and children is a symptom of the larger problem of a broken immigration system, whose age and dangerous course make unaccompanied foreign children vulnerable to trafficking. , exploitation and human abuse HHS joins the President in calling on Congress to reform this broken system. "
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The fate of migrant children detained has been at the center of national news once the Donald Trump administration began separating migrant families who have illegally crossed the border as part of its tolerant immigration policy zero. However, the approximately 2,500 children separated from their parents at the border still represent only a small portion of the still-detained migrant children, most of whom have crossed the border alone.
However, contrary to the reasoning of the administration and the Ministry of Health and Social Services, the number of minors entering the country illegally has not increased. "This is not a story of historic flight arrivals," said Mark Greenberg, who headed the administration of the Department of Health and Social Services for Children and Families of President Barack Obama. "The story is essentially about a significant slowdown in the release of children."
Children classified as "unaccompanied minors", either because they crossed the border alone or were separated from their parents, are held in federal custody until they can be placed in court-appointed homes. But the release of migrant children with sponsors has slowed considerably, with the Trump administration changing the process in June, forcing prospective sponsors and other adults living in the household to submit their fingerprints. This data is then shared with the immigration authorities.
Godparents are often themselves undocumented and this new process involves claiming a child, exposing potential sponsors to the risk of deportation. Policy in general slows down the process for sponsors because even well-informed caregivers still have to wait to be fingerprinted and examined.
The amendment made by the Department of Homeland Securities makes it clear that the goal is to determine the citizenship or immigration status of a sponsor, and ICE has made arrests. "Last week, Matthew Albence, a senior official of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, told Congress that the agency had arrested dozens of people who had asked to sponsor unaccompanied minors," the Times said. "The agency later confirmed that 70% of those arrested did not have a criminal record."
Migrant children are more exposed to a myriad of psychological problems when it comes to extended stays in shelters, but in a large institution like Tornillo, these risks can only increase.
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