Young migrants and asylum seekers swim across the Rio Grande and enter the dense brush of Texas. Many are teens who left Central America on their own; others were sent along by parents from refugee camps in Mexico. They are as young as 10. Under U.S. law they would normally be allowed to live with relatives while their cases wind through immigration courts. Instead, the Trump administration is quickly expelling them under an emergency declaration citing the coronavirus pandemic, with 600 minors expelled in April alone, the Associated Press reports. The expulsions are the latest administration measure aimed at preventing the entry of migrant children, after programs like the since-rescinded “zero tolerance” policy that resulted in thousands of family separations.
Border agencies say they must restrict asylum claims and border crossings during the pandemic to prevent the virus’ spread. Migrants’ advocates call that a pretext to dispense with federal protections for children. Two recently expelled teens said border agents told them they wouldn’t be allowed to request asylum. They were placed in cells, fingerprinted and given a medical exam. After four days, they were flown back to their home country of Guatemala. Osvaldo, 17, said agents wouldn’t let him call his father. He was held with other children in a cold room and issued a foil blanket as well as a new mask and pair of gloves each of the four days he was in custody. Osvaldo was given no immigration paperwork, just the medical report from his examination. “I thought they would help me or let me fight my case,” he said, “but no.” Amy Cohen, a psychiatrist who leads the advocacy group Every Last One, criticized the government’s treatment of children.