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Ataiants, J., Cohen, C., Riley, A. H., Tellez Lieberman, J., Reidy, M. C., & Chilton, M. (2018). Unaccompanied Children at the United States Border, a Human Rights Crisis that can be Addressed with Policy Change. Journal of immigrant and minority health, 20(4), 1000–1010. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10903-017-0577-5

Immigration border crisis. (n.d.). Retrieved November 12, 2021, from https://www.nbcnews.com/immigration-border-crisis

International Rescue Committee (2021, October 22) What is happening at the U.S. southern border? Retrieved November 12, 2021, from https://www.rescue.org/article/what-happening-us-southern-border

US immigration: Thousands gather under bridge at US-mexico border in growing crisis. (2021, September 17). Retrieved November 12, 2021, from https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-58593632

Miroff, N. (2020, October 23). 'kids in cages': It's true that obama built the cages at the border. but Trump's 'Zero tolerance' immigration policy had no precedent. Retrieved November 12, 2021, from https://www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/kids-in-cages-debate-trump-obama/2020/10/23/8ff96f3c-1532-11eb-82af-864652063d61_story.html

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Border crisis: What’s happening at the US-Mexico border?

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An entirely preventable humanitarian tragedy is occurring at our southern border: Unaccompanied migrant children are being separated from their families and held in cages.

Spurred on President Biden 's lax immigration rules, the number of children crossing our border this year has surged. In January, 5,707 children arrived at the border alone, up from 4,855 the month before.

The Biden administration has stopped the Trump administration practice of sending children back to Mexico or their home countries if they were traveling with an adult who wasn't their parent. It also has halted construction on the border wall, rescinded a Trump policy that requires non-Mexican migrants to stay in Mexico until their immigration court date in the U.S., and all but ended deportations of illegal aliens.

The result? A surge in migrants.

So much so that yesterday the Biden administration had to open its first temporary child detention center in Carrizo Springs, Texas. The center will hold up to 700 children ages 13 to 17. The emergency facility was used in the summer of 2019 for one month under the Trump administration before it was widely demonized by Democrats for not following the standard of care of more permanent government shelters and closed.

"Meanwhile, around 700 children are being held by Border Patrol, which has reopened a tent facility in South Texas and otherwise holds immigrants in stations unequipped to detain children," the Associated Press reported. "The Border Patrol's McAllen Processing Center - where images of detained immigrants were shared worldwide when the Trump administration separated families - is closed for renovations that will remove large cages formed by chain-link fencing."

So where is the outrage? Where are the tears from the left of these children being held in "cages?"

Back in 2019, then-presidential candidate Joe Biden said: "Under Trump there have been horrifying scenes at the border of kids being kept in cages."

Then California senator and current Vice President Kamala Harris said at the time, "Babies in cages is a human rights abuse being committed by the United States government."

And remember New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's photo shoot? Where she visited Texas and detailed how "horrifying" the conditions were at these migrant detention facilities? How officers were keeping women in cells with no water and ordered them to drink from toilets?

Or when Texas Rep. Joaquin Castro posted on social media videos of migrants with sleeping bags, saying: "This moment captures what it's like for women in CBP custody to share a cramped cell-some held for 50 days-for them to be denied showers for up to 15 days and life-saving medication. For some, it also means being separated from their children."

So how is what the Biden administration is doing any different than what the Trump administration did two years ago?

"We are in a circumstance where we are not going to expel unaccompanied minors at the border, that would be inhumane, that is not what we are going to do here as an administration," White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki replied when asked the question today at her press briefing.

She noted the children weren't being held in cages - hint: they never were - and that their basic needs were being taken care of. But that was also true under the Trump administration as well.

Ms. Psaki noted that because of COVID guidelines, the children needed to be socially distanced, therefore more facilities needed to be opened.

What she failed to answer was why there is a surge in border crossings this year and what the Biden administration is doing to curb it.

The answer is nothing. The Biden administration's policies are encouraging it.

Welcome to America. Here's our humane tent facilities. You're welcome.

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No liberal tears as Biden puts kids in cages at southern border

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An entirely preventable humanitarian tragedy is occurring at our southern border: Unaccompanied migrant children are being separated from their families and held in cages. Spurred on President Biden 's lax immigration rules, the number of children crossing our border this year has surged.

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‘Kids in cages’: It’s true that Obama built the cages at the border. But Trump’s ‘zero tolerance’ immigration policy had no precedent.

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A short history of the Border Patrol’s Central Processing Center in McAllen, Tex., and its chain-link detention pens.

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Immigration and Crisis on the U.S borders.

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Immigration and Crisis on the U.S borders.

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Violence, climate change, rising poverty, and COVID-19 are forcing thousands of people from northern Central America, Haiti, and other places in crisis to flee their homes. Many, including unaccompanied children, have undertaken a dangerous journey to the United States southern border to ask for asylum.

Seeking asylum is legal under both domestic and international law-even during a pandemic. People arriving at the U.S. border have the right to request asylum without being criminalized, turned back to danger or separated from their families.
Leer en español: ¿Qué está pasando en la frontera sur de Estados Unidos?
The U.S. asylum system can best be described as broken and brutal, a reality that was exacerbated by the previous administration. But while President Joe Biden has announced ambitious goals, his administration has shown little progress toward building a fair and humane asylum system. Instead, he has continued policies that criminalize asylum seekers and turn them away at the border, putting thousands of lives at risk.

Find out what's happening, what the Biden Administration must do, and how you can help.

Who is crossing the U.S.-Mexico border?

Asylum seekers are people who ask for protection in another country because they fear violence or persecution in their home country. Many of the people attempting to reach safety by crossing the U.S.-Mexico border have no choice but to flee. They are women escaping gender-based violence, LGBTQ people fleeing persecution, and families and children seeking protection from gang violence.

A substantial number of asylum seekers are fleeing violence, persecution, and natural disasters in Haiti and the northern Central American countries of Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador. Asylum seekers also come from Venezuela, Cuba, Brazil, India, and African countries, such as Eritrea, Ghana, Ethiopia and Cameroon.

"People are usually displaced within their own countries first," says Meghan Lopez, the IRC's regional vice president for Latin America. "However, the vast majority encounter risks and deteriorating living conditions similar to the ones they fled, leaving them no choice but to seek safety elsewhere."

Learn more about how the asylum system works.

Is seeking asylum legal during the COVID-19 pandemic?

Seeking asylum is always legal under both domestic and international law, including during a pandemic.

Epidemiologists and other public health experts have made clear that asylum seekers and their children can be safely processed at the border using public health measures. Even Chief Medical Officer to the President Dr. Anthony Fauci has said that immigrants are not the driving force behind the spread of COVID-19.

Turning asylum seekers away not only violates U.S. law, it sends people, including families with children, back to places where they face persecution and threats to their lives.

Is the Biden Administration allowing asylum seekers into the U.S.?

Despite releasing plans and blueprints to reform the asylum system, the Biden Administration has continued policies that criminalize and turn away individuals and families seeking safety.

The Biden Administration has continued policies that criminalize and turn away individuals and families seeking safety.

The Trump Administration used COVID-19 as a justification to immediately expel asylum seekers under a public health code called Title 42. This code remains in effect today, meaning most asylum seekers still are quickly turned away without ever being able to present their case for asylum. The exceptions are unaccompanied children, some families, and those impacted by a Trump Administration policy called "Remain in Mexico" or the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP).

MPP forces those who apply for asylum at the southern border to wait out their cases in dangerous conditions in Mexico with little access to legal counsel. The Biden Administration initially terminated the program before the Supreme Court upheld a lower court decision to order its reinstatement. Although the administration claims to still want to find a way to end MPP, it has since worked with Mexico to continue and even expand the program.

The Biden Administration has also expanded immigration detention and is deporting Central American asylum seekers to unfamiliar areas of Mexico. People held in detention are at increased risk of COVID-19 in a system notorious for inhumane conditions and woefully insufficient medical care, while expulsions and deportations further the spread of COVID-19. Due to systemic racism and rampant racial profiling, Black immigrants are at disproportionate risk of ICE detention and deportation.

"For every step forward the Biden Administration has taken on asylum, it takes two steps backward...." says IRC director of immigration Olga Byrne. "The Biden Administration has so far demonstrated a lack of will to dismantle a broken and brutal system exacerbated by the previous administration and replace it with a system centered on dignity and protection."

The IRC called on the previous administration and continues to call on the Biden Administration to end this use of Title 42 and to build a fair and humane asylum system.

Learn more about President Biden's policies.

Why are Haitians seeking asylum?

Haiti is facing political strife after the assasination of its president, a public health crisis with little to no infrastructure to mitigate the spread of COVID-19, and the near-constant onslaught of natural disasters. This summer, Tropical Storm Grace hit Haiti just days after an earthquake devastated parts of the country and left over 2,000 people dead.

Effective in August, the Biden Administration announced that Haitians already in the U.S. would be eligible for temporary protected status, or TPS. TPS allows people from designated countries to live and work in the U.S. because their own country is suffering from armed conflict or natural disaster.

However, despite its recognition of Haiti's crisis, the administration continues to turn away Haitian asylum seekers. U.S. Border Patrol were documented pursuing Haitian asylum-seekers on horseback armed with whips, abuse that is the direct result of an immigration system that criminalizes-rather than protects-people seeking safety.

The obstacles Haitians face on their way to safety start long before reaching the US-Mexico border. There have been reports of Mexican security forces being deployed to the South of the country--specifically in the state of Chiapas-to block the way of asylum seekers.

Why are people fleeing Central America?

People are facing worsening conditions in a region that has for years suffered from extreme poverty and some of the world's highest murder rates outside of warzones.

In the final months of 2020, CuéntaNos, part of the International Rescue Committee's global information platform for refugees and migrants, saw a 1,500% increase in questions from Central Americans about immigration.

Why is this? First, the economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic have worsened conditions in the region, with an estimated 45.4 million people forced into poverty in 2020 alone. Struggling communities faced another blow in November when hurricanes Eta and Iota struck within three weeks of one another, leaving 3.4 million people in need of urgent assistance.

Gender-based violence is also pervasive in the region. Requests for women's services and protection information doubled on CuéntaNos from October to November last year. Women and girls seeking safety are stuck in shelters filled beyond capacity with families who lost their homes to the hurricanes. Privacy is limited in these shelters and reports of sexual violence are on the rise.

All of these conditions are exacerbating the violence already plaguing the region.

"The hardest part about living in El Salvador is the violence," says 23-year-old Valentina*, who fled to the U.S. after her family was threatened by gangs. "This is what makes life hard, because you leave your house and you don't know if you'll return. So, yes, this is a war."

Honduras, considered the most dangerous country in the region, sees 38 murders per 100,000 people, even after a drop in homicides in recent years. A woman is murdered every 36 hours, mostly by an intimate partner.

Why is there a problem with unaccompanied children crossing the border?

Like other asylum seekers, unaccompanied children are crossing the border to escape violence and persecution.

Escalating crises are forcing families to make impossible decisions and to send teenagers-or even young children-on a journey fraught with its own dangers, including human trafficking. Many of these children are trying to reunify with parents or other legal guardians already living in the U.S.

Are more people attempting to cross the U.S. southern border under the Biden Administration?

The U.S. Border Patrol came in contact with more than 213,000 migrants attempting to cross the border in July, up from 189,000 in June. It's critical to put these numbers in perspective: 1.7 million people attempted to cross between ports of entry (official border crossings) in 2000, for instance.

Why are more people asking for asylum now?

Worsening living conditions across Latin America and other regions, including those caused by the recent hurricanes and the earthquake that devastated Haiti, are contributing to an increase in the number of people who are forced to leave their homes to seek safety.

U.S. policy also plays a role: before leaving office, the previous administration unfairly and inhumanely barred asylum seekers by enforcing policies, such as family separation, that were often condemned by Americans.

The Biden Administration faces the challenge of unwinding the Trump Administration's disastrous decisions. While the administration has taken steps in this regard, its use of Title 42 and other damaging policies continue to put asylum seekers at risk. The U.S. must close this dark chapter in its history.

Watch an Instagram story on the situation at the U.S.-Mexico border and the IRC's work.

What should the Biden Administration do to help asylum seekers?

The U.S. has the resources and capability to treat asylum seekers with dignity. Here is what the Biden Administration should do:

Urgently scale up partnerships with humanitarian organizations on both sides of the border that can meet the needs of asylum seekers.

Stop the use of Title 42 to turn away asylum seekers.

Immediately end expulsion flights to Haiti, stop expulsions of Haitians at the U.S. southern border and end immigration authorities' use of violence against asylum seekers.

Send more humanitarian aid to Central America, to address the crisis at its root and to protect and meet the basic needs of people undertaking the dangerous journey to the U.S.

End Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detentions, expulsions, and deportations during the coronavirus pandemic.

Learn more about how the Biden Administration can create a humane asylum system.

What is the IRC doing to help?

The IRC provides critical support to asylum seekers on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border, in northern Central America and in response to the Venezuela crisis. Additionally, the IRC announced an emergency response to support recovery efforts led by local organizations after the earthquake that hit Haiti in August.

The IRC provides case management, humanitarian reception, and legal assistance to tens of thousands of asylum seekers, unaccompanied children, and other vulnerable people seeking protection in the U.S. each year. We have worked with partners to provide over 26,000 individuals with emergency humanitarian reception services at our Phoenix Welcome Center in 2021 alone. We are also working with partners to respond to asylum seekers' urgent needs and to provide free legal assistance to migrants facing deportation.

In Mexico, the IRC is responding along the main migration corridors: from the southern to the northern borders and in Mexico City. The IRC's programs offer a timely and comprehensive response to the most urgent needs of people on the move, including: prevention and response to gender-based violence; access to critical information through InfoDigna, a multi-channel information platform; prevention and mitigation of COVID-19; economic recovery and development; child protection services; cultural orientation for individuals that have chosen to stay in Mexico; as well as identifying needs and referring cases to local service providers. Additionally, the IRC launched a response to support Afghan evacuees arriving in the country's capital.

In northern Central America, the IRC is supporting individuals and families in vulnerable situations or at increased risk for violence and displacement. The IRC's programming includes multi-purpose cash transfers to satisfy basic needs; the creation of safe spaces for women, youth and the LGBTQ+ community; case management and psychosocial support; and CuéntaNos, a digital platform-part of the Global Signpost project -to provide people with critical, up-to-date information and two-way communication and support with trained moderators.

In Haiti, the IRC is supporting the critical work of local Haitian organizations FOSREF, Kay Fanm and FADHRIS to aid the recovery efforts from the earthquake and Hurricane Grace.

How can I help asylum seekers?

Donate to help the IRC provide critical aid to refugees and asylum seekers worldwide.

Tell the Biden Administration to protect the rights of Haitian asylum seekers.

Share this article with your friends and family on Facebook or Twitter to remind them that seeking asylum is a right.

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What is happening at the U.S. southern border?

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Violence, climate change, rising poverty, and COVID-19 are forcing thousands of people from northern Central America, Haiti, and other places in crisis to flee their homes. Many, including unaccompanied children, have undertaken a dangerous journey to the United States southern border to ask for asylum.

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The latest stories on the Trump administration’s policy to separate immigrant parents from their children at border crossings.

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CNN: The Real immigration crisis is not at the border 

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CNN: The Real immigration crisis is not at the border 

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opinion: the real immigration crisis is not at the border - cnn

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Opinion: The real immigration crisis is not at the border

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In April, in the cottony blackness of night, I stood on the banks of the Rio Grande in Roma, Texas, and watched hundreds of migrants cross into the United States via inflatable rafts. I interviewed many of them while working in Tapachula and Reynosa, Mexico.