Former Vice President Joe Biden called for immigrant detention centers to be shut down claiming the facilities were unnecessary.
During a town hall forum in South Carolina Thursday, Biden was asked how he would deal with the issues surrounding detention centers that retain immigrants who attempt to cross the U.S.-Mexico border illegally.
Biden responded, “Close them down! By the way, we don’t need them!”
Back in July, Biden promised that if elected to the White House, he would not detain migrant children at the detention centers on the border. He made this pledge after meeting with over 20 members of BOLDPAC, a political action committee that funds the reelection campaigns of Congressional Hispanic Caucus members on Capitol Hill.
Minors who travel to the border with legal guardians are brought into the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) with the rest of their family, where the entire unit is ordinarily released within 20 days.
The Trump administration recently announced plans to allow DHS to hold migrant families in detention for longer periods of time than what is currently allowed under the 2015 Flores Settlement Agreement. The Obama administration, however, had already held migrant families for longer periods than 20 days up until the Flores Settlement Agreement was established.
Biden’s current stance puts him in alignment with his fellow Democratic primary opponents who also called to shut down the facilities including New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker who wants to “virtually eliminate immigration detention,” as well as California Sen. Kamala Harris, who called to “Get rid of the private detention centers.”
Biden and his fellow Democrats have called for the end of these detention center amid an illegal immigration and humanitarian crisis. According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, 800,000 apprehensions have been made at the southern border this year up to this point.
