The Trump administration is again detaining migrant families with children in ICE custody. This move is a significant part of the administration’s effort to enforce what President Trump has described as the largest deportation campaign in U.S. history. On Thursday, ICE began detaining migrant parents and children at a Texas detention facility. A government report shows that among the people detained by ICE were three children.
The Role of DHS And ICE In Family Detention
A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Tricia McLaughlin, confirmed that the detained migrants have deportation orders. She affirmed that the Trump administration is reconfiguring two Texas detention centers to house families who are in the U.S. illegally. McLaughlin emphasized that the administration would not ignore the rule of law and would carry out its immigration enforcement strategy with full force. These actions have similarities to the previous administration’s approach of using detention to deter illegal immigration.
Location of Detention Centers
The Karnes detention facility, located in Karnes City, Texas, is one of the two centers that are holding migrant families. The second ICE detention center designated for families with children is located in Dilley, Texas. These centers were previously used by the Biden administration to detain adult migrants, but under the Trump administration, these facilities will now be used for families. This decision marks a reversal of Biden’s policy, which ended the long-term detention of families. This policy shift is significant to a practice first implemented during the Obama administration to deter families from crossing the southern U.S. border illegally.
Opposition From Advocates and Child Welfare Experts
The revival of family detention has faced strong opposition from child welfare advocates and experts, who argue that it poses a significant risk to a child’s health and psychological well-being. A 2016 DHS report recommended phasing out family detention, citing its harmful effects on minors. Neha Desai, an attorney with the National Center of Youth Law, stated that there is no safe way to detain families and argued that the practice is inhumane.
Legal Challenges and Court Rulings
Family detention has faced numerous legal challenges over the years. In 2015, a federal judge ruled that migrant children should not be held by the U.S. government for more than 20 days, significantly limiting the detention of families for extended periods. This ruling was part of an effort to ensure that the treatment of migrant children aligns with international human rights standards. Despite these legal obstacles, the Trump administration has revived family detention as part of its broader immigration enforcement strategy.
Strain on ICE’s Detention Capacity
The move to detain migrant families also reflects broader efforts by the Trump administration to expand ICE’s ability to arrest, detain, and deport undocumented migrants. However, ICE has been under pressure to increase the number of arrests and deportations, particularly within the U.S. interior. ICE’s detention capacity has been severely strained, with the agency holding more than 46,000 migrants as of Thursday, exceeding its official capacity of 38,000 beds. This highlights the operational challenges faced by ICE in implementing its immigration enforcement campaign.
Trump’s Broader Immigration Enforcement Agenda
In addition to reinstituting family detention, the Trump administration has worked hard in securing the U.S.-Mexico border, which has led to a significant decrease in illegal border crossings. Despite this success, interior immigration enforcement efforts still face operational obstacles, particularly regarding detention capacity. This highlights the challenges the U.S. government faces in managing and enforcing its immigration policies across the nation.
What’s Next?
The revival of family detention is part of a broader push by the Trump administration to carry out an aggressive and large-scale deportation campaign. However, this practice continues to be highly controversial, with ongoing debates about its humanitarian impact. As the administration intensifies its immigration enforcement efforts, advocates are raising concerns about the long-term consequences for families, particularly children, who are caught in the detention system.
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