HOUSTON (AP) – President Joe Biden’s administration is instructing long-term facilities that keep children of immigrants to lift the capacity constraints imposed during the coronavirus pandemic to open much-needed beds in a rapidly increasing system.
A memo released by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services on Friday tells service providers to temporarily increase capacity to full licensed capacity … while implementing strict COVID-19 mitigation measures. It is not immediately clear how many beds will be available after the approximately 7,000 that were online last month. HHS’s full licensed capacity was more than 13,000 beds at the end of last year.
Some facilities reduced their capacity by as much as half during the coronavirus pandemic. Meanwhile, hundreds of children waiting to be placed in the HHS system are being held by U.S. border patrols in tent facilities or large, cold cells that are not equipped to hold minors. Images and stories of packed Border Patrol cells in 2018 and 2019 sparked outrage, with reports of families and young children having to take care of themselves without adequate food and water.
Removal of pandemic connection may increase the risk of spreading the coronavirus within HHS facilities, especially as more children enter the system. But the organizations that run HHS facilities, and some advocates, have called for more beds to be made available if done safely, rather than keeping children in Border Patrol facilities longer or placing them in expensive, unlicensed emergency centers.
“Given the nature of the COVID-19 pandemic, there is no 0% risk scenario, especially not in congregations,” the memorandum, first reported by CNN, said. “Therefore, ORR facilities must plan and expect to have COVID-19 cases.”
HHS has previously authorized institutional operators to pay the government for travel expenses when a child is released to a parent or other sponsor. Some families can not easily afford the hundreds of dollars to fly a child and a guardian, and disputes over payment can sometimes delay the child’s release by a few days.
Agents adopt about 400 children a day without the guidance of a parent or guardian, a sharp increase since last month. The concern is that the numbers will continue to rise.
Biden has ended a practice under former President Donald Trump to expel unaccompanied children under a public health declaration issued during the pandemic, although its government continues to expel immigrant families and adults. Some former Trump administration officials have accused Biden of inspiring immigrants to try to enter the U.S. illegally, even though the numbers among Biden have not reached their peak under Trump.
The practice of expelling children has been sharply criticized and has often brought them back into dangerous situations without giving them the chance to seek asylum or speak to a lawyer. Associated Press reports that the underlying public health statement has been issued under pressure of former Vice President Mike Pence.
Trump issued a statement Friday claiming that the “border is now completely out of control thanks to the disastrous leadership of Joe Biden.”
“We do not take our advice or advice from former President Trump on immigration policy, which for the past four years has been not only inhumane but not effective,” White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said Friday. “We are going to draw our own path forward, and that includes treating our children with humanity and respect and ensuring that they are safe when they cross our borders.”
Over the past few days, Biden has also been criticized by the Texas government, Greg Abbott, and other Republicans for the release of immigrant families in South Texas. Border authorities have stopped expelling families with young children from some cities in Texas due to a policy change in the state of Tamaulipas in Mexico. In several cities, local governments and advocacy groups are testing isolated families for COVID-19 and directing those with the virus to shelters or hotel rooms available for it.