The Biden administration is preparing to open another tent facility for migrants near the United States-Mexico border, as crossings surge in the first weeks of President Biden’s term in office.
The Del Rio sector facility will be located in Eagle Pass, Texas, and adds to the growing number of detention facilities reopened or constructed by the Biden administration.
“CBP is currently constructing a soft-sided facility in Eagle Pass, TX to help accommodate migrants in our custody. There have always been fluctuations in the number of individuals we encounter at the border, and we continue to adapt accordingly,” Customs and Border Protection said in a statement to CNN.
Customs and Border Protection announced in February that a 185,000-square-foot “soft-sided” facility would be constructed in Donna, Texas, in response to the growing number of illegal crossings. The administration has also reopened a facility at Carrizo Springs to house the influx of minors. The 66-acre center was used in 2019 by the Trump administration, which was harshly criticized for the move.
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The reopening of the facilities has led to consternation from Biden’s left-wing allies, with New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez decrying the move and Naureen Shah, an attorney for American Civil Liberties Union, urging the Biden administration to shutter the site “as soon as public health permits.”
“It is critical that it not repeat the mistakes of the Trump administration,” Shah said.
In January, Customs and Border Protection encountered more than 78,000 migrants at the U.S. border with Mexico, compared to 36,585 at the same time in 2020. The figures for January 2021 include 5,707 unaccompanied minors.
A change in Mexican law has prevented U.S. authorities from returning families and unaccompanied minors to the country, requiring Customs and Border Protection to house them until the unaccompanied minors can be transferred to the custody of the Department of Health and Human Services. Customs and Border Protection is supposed to transfer custody within three days, but the surge has led to a lack of available space.
Former President Donald Trump took aim at Biden’s immigration policy in his first post-presidency speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Orlando on Sunday, saying the president’s policies have “triggered a massive flood of illegal immigration.”
Former President Donald Trump: “Joe Biden has triggered a massive flood of illegal immigration into our country, the likes of which we’ve never seen before.” pic.twitter.com/wmhmGZ5BWq
— Washington Examiner (@dcexaminer) February 28, 2021
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The administration’s immigration policies have already resulted in a lawsuit, with a federal judge imposing a moratorium on the president’s 100-day ban on deportations. The lawsuit, brought by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, argued that the policy would put a financial burden on Texas as the state would be responsible for providing education to migrant children and for paying to detain illegal immigrants.
Paxton celebrated the court’s decision, writing in a statement, “A freeze on deportations at this scale would undermine federal law, irreparably harm our great state, and directly endanger our citizens. Law and order must be upheld.”
