The Biden Administration and Migrant Children at the Border

By Mimi Lebeau ‘24

As the Biden Administration comes into office, many adjustments have been made including changes to border security and immigration policies. With all these changes occurring so rapidly, this leaves America wondering what exactly has been happening to migrant children?
During Trump’s presidency, there was a lot of controversy over his and his Administration’s treatment of these children at the border after many reports of kids in cages were brought to light. 

Since Biden’s inauguration in January, journalists have not been allowed to enter the detaining facilities so the living conditions for the migrants are fairly unknown. However, lawyers representing the children report they are kept in overcrowded spaces with little access to soap or food. 
As horrific as it is, this is an upgrade as the holding centers underwent renovations since Trump’s presidency. The once bare, metal cages are now furnished with mattresses and blankets and have transparent, temporary walls. Furthermore, the Biden Administration states that children are kept in these facilities for a maximum of 72 hours as opposed to the weeks some children spent there during Trump’s presidency.
Before being elected president, Biden promised to treat migrants more humanely which so far has proved to be partially true. Technically speaking, since 2019, when the mistreatment of migrants, in particular, children was at its peak, the numbers have dropped indicating a possible positive trend for the future. 
Freshman Chloe Elder said, “I think the current Administration is doing a decent job at improving this system which was so poor when they inherited it.”
Furthermore, this promise for better treatment has not gone unheard of to the inhabitants of troubled countries such as Mexico who account for more than half of the United States’ migrant intake. Since Biden came into office, there has been a significant surge in the number of migrant families attempting to enter the United States.  
“Don’t leave your town or city or community,” Biden recently said to Central and South America in an interview.
Despite this, the amount of migrants seeking asylum is the highest it’s been in the past twenty years at almost half a million people, 15,500 of those being unaccompanied children. 
Although Biden claims that “nothing has changed,” there has been a notable increase in the number of unaccompanied minors crossing the border. As the Biden administration works to accommodate the masses of people particularly from Central and South America, it faces pressures from both within and outside of the party.
“This surge in migrants is unsurprising given the Biden Administration’s advertised focus on better accommodating the Latinx immigrants,” freshman Agam Rejwan said. “I hope that the new Administration is able to keep up with the influx of people at the border.”
To handle this urgent crisis, the White House has revived a policy put in place by the Obama Administration that allows Central and South American children to independently apply for asylum. This is good news as previously, many children were forced to cross the border illegally or wait several months in detention as they seek asylum. 
Despite this positive development, this has added to the large number of children accumulating in detention centers as they wait to be admitted into the country. To deal with this, the Biden Administration has called upon various charities and even the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which normally deals with natural disasters, to help accommodate the migrant children.  
So far, certain government buildings and convention centers in Texas and other states have been converted to detainment centers. Even NASA and some oil manufacturing companies have allowed migrant children to be kept in their facilities. However, this is not a permanent solution as the Biden Administration said detention centers are, “no place for children.”
Biden recently handed responsibility for immigration policy to Vice President Kamala Harris. However, according to the Biden Administration, she is tasked with tackling promoting diplomacy between Central and South American countries as opposed to what is actually being done with the migrants.
The focus of this initiative is to communicate to Central and South Americans to essentially stop coming to the US because it simply does not have the resources to accommodate the flow of immigrants it is receiving at present.
However, in dire cases, people simply cannot stay in their native country. Particularly in Mexico and Guatemala, which happen to account for much of the United States’ migrant intake, violence is rampant and the peoples’ lives are at risk. With this in mind, the Biden Administration added a second component adapted from the Obama Administration’s policy.
This policy allows immigrants to apply for asylum from their home countries and they can enter the US only after they are approved, limiting the number of people in detention centers. Especially with COVID-19, this is useful in reducing the overcrowding in detainment facilities.
As these policies continue to evolve, anticipate many alterations as the new Administration attempts to navigate this complex issue.
“In the future, I hope to see a more effective way of accommodating the children because ultimately, the most important thing is that they are safe and accounted for,” sophomore Kelly Linder said.