Trump administration to resume immigrant family detentions
Photo: Biden ended the arrests of migrant families in 2021 (Getty Images)
The administration of US President Donald Trump is preparing to resume the practice of detaining migrant families. This move could lead to an increase in the number of arrests of children and teenagers, according to NBC News.
According to three sources, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency is preparing to publish a "request for proposals" in the coming days, inviting private prison companies to apply for contracts to reopen detention facilities specifically for families.
The publication notes that during the Obama administration and the first term of Trump’s presidency, parents and children were detained together in the US, but the Joe Biden administration ended this practice in early 2021.
Under Biden, families of illegal immigrants going through the immigration system were allowed to live in the US, with the head of the family being included in a geolocation monitoring program, such as an ankle bracelet, even if the family was to be deported.
Since Trump returned to the White House last month, most arrests made by immigration and customs enforcement have been of unmarried adult men.
However, this could soon change once family detention centers reopen. It is still unclear whether ICE plans to build new facilities or simply reopen previous family detention centers. Regardless, the agency is already facing budget shortages.
NBC also explained why ICE is turning to private prison companies. According to a 1997 settlement agreement, the agency is prohibited from detaining families with children in regular ICE detention centers and must hold them for no more than 21 days.
