US army bases to house 20 000 kids

CHAOS AFTER FAMILY SEPARATIONS CANCELLED But legal experts say separations may continue and justice department indicates the same.

The US military has been asked to get ready to house up to 20 000 immigrant children, officials said on Thursday, as President Donald Trump’s efforts to roll back a widely condemned policy of separating children from their parents were beset by confusion.

While no decision has been made, the Department of Health and Human Services has already assessed three military bases in Texas and would review another in Arkansas, Pentagon spokesperson Dana White said.

She said the department had asked the Pentagon “to determine its capabilities to provide up to 20 000 temporary beds for unaccompanied alien children” at military installations.

White did not give further details and it was not clear how many of the children who could be sent to the bases are already being detained at other facilities.

Trump and his administration have faced fierce criticism in recent weeks for separating more than 2 300 children from their families in order to prosecute their parents for crossing the border illegally. Videos of children in cages and an audiotape of wailing children sparked worldwide anger.

Trump backed down on Wednesday, signing an executive order to keep families together in detention during immigration proceedings.

But it remained unclear on Thursday how and when those children would be reunited with their parents, and where families would be held while the parents face criminal charges.

It was also not clear if the government would keep prosecuting cases against people caught crossing the border illegally. While prosecutors said they were not dismissing any cases, in McAllen, Texas, 17 immigrants were told on Thursday by public defenders that their cases were not proceeding for now.

While Trump has backed off taking children away from their parents, it is not clear how his administration will handle immigration cases on the border going forward. It says it will stick to a “zero tolerance” policy that means anyone crossing illegally is prosecuted.

Some legal experts said the wording of the executive order was ambiguous and that family separations could continue. On Thursday, the Justice Department asked a federal court to ease curbs on the detention of children who enter the US illegally with their parents.

“Under current law, it is not possible for the US government to detain families together during the pendency of their immigration proceedings,” it said. –