HOUSTON (AP) – The Trump administration has sharply increased its use of hotels to detain immigrant children as young as 1 before expelling them from the United States during the coronavirus pandemic despite facing outcry from lawmakers and human-rights advocates.
Federal authorities said they detained 577 unaccompanied children in hotels through the end of July, up from 240 in April, May and June, according to a report published late Wednesday from a court-appointed monitor for detained immigrant youth.
The Associated Press reported on the practice last month, with the Trump administration citing the threat of the virus in rapidly expelling those children and other migrants under an emergency declaration that denies them a chance to seek asylum. Keeping kids in hotels circumvents federal anti-trafficking laws and a two-decade-old court settlement, and advocates have warned of potential mistreatment.
Meanwhile, new allegations have emerged of efforts at the hotels to skirt health precautions.
An immigrant from Haiti says government contractors at a hotel where he was detained gave his family, including his 1-year-old daughter, cups of ice to eat to pass temperature checks before their deportation flight, though they had tested negative for COVID-19.