Republican Utah Sen. Mitt Romney slammed President Biden’s handling of the migrant surge at the U.S.-Mexico border, saying the administration’s acceptance of unaccompanied minors is “de facto ‘child separation policy.'”
His comments come as the number of migrants arriving at the southern border is surging, while a recent change to immigration policy allows unaccompanied minors into the country.
“The Biden administration’s lack of understanding of the power of incentives continues to baffle me: allowing unaccompanied minors to stay in the U.S. will yield a flood of unaccompanied minors,” Romney wrote on Twitter Monday morning. “It’s de facto ‘child separation policy.'”
The Biden administration’s lack of understanding of the power of incentives continues to baffle me: allowing unaccompanied minors to stay in the U.S. will yield a flood of unaccompanied minors. It’s de facto ‘child separation policy’.
— Mitt Romney (@MittRomney) March 22, 2021
BIDEN ADMINISTRATION OPENS ADDITIONAL MIGRANT FACILITY TO HOLD 2,000 UNACCOMPANIED CHILDREN
As both sides of the aisle criticize the handling of the surge, the Biden administration does expel single adults and families crossing illegally, though some exceptions apply.
According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection statistics, the agency encountered 100,441 migrants at the border in February and expelled 72,113 under Title 42, a Trump-era health order to limit the spread of COVID-19.
The Department of Health and Human Services reported that on March 15, about 9,200 unaccompanied children were in the custody of an HHS refugee office that manages a shelter system for children.
On Monday, Texas Rep. Henry Cuellar released images that appear to show overcrowded conditions in migrant facilities near the border. The Democratic representative said Border Patrol is “not equipped to care for kids” and called on the Biden administration to rectify the problem.
Republicans argue Biden has encouraged illegal immigration by rolling back Trump-era policies, such as “Remain in Mexico” measures which kept migrants behind the U.S. border. Democrats have also issued concern with the number of unaccompanied minors staying in temporary CBP facilities for extended periods of time.
Children are supposed to be transferred out of CBP custody to HHS-run shelters within 72 hours following initial detention.
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With the influx of migrants and limited shelter space, children can get stuck in border detention centers for longer periods of time.
A recent decision by HHS opened up a shelter at a Dallas convention center to house 3,000 additional unaccompanied minors who have crossed the border in past weeks.
