A federal appeals court ruled that the United States government could resume the expulsion of immigrant children crossing the border south unaccompanied by a parent.
Yesterday, the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit issued the suspension of the judgment of a lower court, causing the administration of President Joe Biden to resume the expulsions of migrants by former President Donald Trump. The measure was implemented by a public health policy that found it necessary to deport migrants due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The appeals court issued the suspension requested by the Trump administration shortly after a federal judge banned the practice in November.
The three judges Gregory Katsas, Neomi Rao and Justin Walker, who They issued the order, they were appointed by Trump, which promulgated several restrictive measures against migration during his presidency.
Trump’s Republican administration introduced the evictions early in the pandemic, arguing that it needed to restrict border crossings to prevent the spread of the virus, although public health officials later said that former Vice President Mike Pence, asked them to issue a warrant permitting evictions. Border agents carried out more than 180,000 deportations in the last three months of 2020.
Immigration agencies continued to expel the majority of people crossing the border – adults as well as parents and children combined – in the early days of the Biden government. The Democrat has stated that he will cancel the Trump administration’s policy of restricting migration, but his advisers have said they are concerned that all migrants will be allowed to cross the border immediately. It is not known whether Biden will now proceed with deportations for unaccompanied minors.
Until now, at least 8,800 minors were deported before federal court issued the warrant. These included nine-year-olds who were denied the opportunity to seek asylum or other protection under US law. Many children and even babies with their parents were held in border state hotels before being put on deportation flights before another judge banned the practice.
The Department of Homeland Security has not made any statements at this time, nor has the Department of Justice.
Lee Gelernt, a lawyer for the American Civil Liberties Union, described the appeal court’s decision as a “temporary inconvenience.”
“We will continue to litigate this case on behalf of these vulnerable unaccompanied children, who need protection and have a legal right to asylum. We hope that the Biden government does not need to continue the proceedings by rescuing this illegal policy of the Trump administration ”, Gelernt reported in a statement.
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