Survey: The American population does not support the detention of immigrant minors

Before Joe Biden took office in early January 2021, the Trump administration implemented multiple policies that increased family separation at the borders, expedited deportations of unaccompanied immigrant minors amid the health crisis, and delayed active immigration processes.

One of the Trump administration’s arguments was that mass immigration could affect the local population. However, his government did not take into account the opinion of the American public on this issue.

A survey recently conducted by The Washington Post reveals that Americans do not always support the detention of minors or the separation of families at the borders, but rather support the release of migrant children.

The survey included 1,109 White voters, who answered a series of questions related to immigration policies involving minors and immigrant families. The results reveal that 82% of respondents sate that minors should be released with a sponsor or relative(s) rather than being held in detention centers (6%) or deported (11%).

It is importante to clarify that percentages changed depending on the respondents’ political party, but the vast majority agree that the best solution would be to release immigrant minors within the US.

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The controversy surrounding the detention of immigrant minors

The US law is quite strict when it comes to immigrant minors who arrive at the borders unaccompanied. In fact, immigrant children detained by the border forces cannot remain in their custody for more than a certain period of time, which normally does not exceed 3 days, but must be transferred to the ORR (Office of Refugee Resettlement), which is a branch of HHS (Department of Health and Human Services).

The social controversy surrounding unaccompanied immigrant minors also tends to be quite notorious because border entities do not always follow guidelines established by local law for multiple reasons.

For instance, currently, the Joe Biden administration is facing a crossroads because:

• The number of immigrant minors apprehended by border forces such as CBP (Customs and Border Protection) has increased exponentially in recent weeks, hindering the transfer process to HHS facilities.
• Due to the health crisis caused by the global Coronavirus pandemic, HHS facilities were unable to use their maximum capacity and there were not enough beds available for the number of unaccompanied immigrant minors reaching the US border.

To avoid a border crisis and the deportation of immigrant minors, the Biden administration decided to reopen HHS centers to pre-pandemic levels, allowing border forces to transfer children more quickly and avoid keeping them in their facilities for longer than allowed by law.

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