The Biden administration has reportedly told immigration officials that they can open up their detention facilities for migrant children to pre-COVID capacity limits, despite reports that say more and more COVID-infected migrants are crossing the border and being released into the country.
The latest scoop was tweeted by CNN immigration reporter Priscilla Alvarez, who said the network had obtained a memo from the administration that reportedly cited “extraordinary circumstances” for the move.
NEW: The Biden admin has notified facilities caring for migrant children that they can temporarily open back up to pre-Covid-19 levels, acknowledging “extraordinary circumstances," according to a memo obtained by CNN. Story TK.
— Priscilla Alvarez (@priscialva) March 5, 2021
According to CNN, the memo told facility operators that "facilities should plan for and expect to have COVID-19 cases" and that "there is no 0% risk scenario" for avoiding outbreaks.
The administration's decision comes the same week Texas Governor Greg Abbott has been maligned by the left for lifting his state's mask mandate and declaring that businesses can now reopen at full capacity, a move many Democrats have used to accuse the Republican leader of murder and negligence. But apparently, reopening closed-door detention facilities at max occupancy for migrants who haven't been tested for COVID falls into the column of acceptable options for an administration that has yet to make good on its promise to reopen schools to American children.
Related: Biden Admin Bars Media From Touring Facilities For Migrant Kids Due to 'COVID'
Biden has come under heavy fire for re-opening several Trump-era facilities for migrant teens that were deemed “concentration camps” and “prison conditions” under the previous administration. Immigration officials are struggling under a massive surge of migrants, including thousands of unaccompanied minors, who’ve begun crossing the border in droves following Biden’s inauguration.
More than 13,000 unaccompanied alien children - most of them teenagers - are expected to cross the border during the month of May, signaling a massive surge in the number of minors coming into the United States unlawfully and far surpassing the border crisis of 2019. Axios reports border officials say the incoming wave of illegal aliens will likely force the administration to open even more overflow facilities, particularly while social distancing requirements remain in place thanks to the coronavirus pandemic. A facility for children in Homestead, Florida, maligned by the left as a "concentration camp" under the Trump administration, is expected to be reopened in April.
Another overflow facility in Texas that's already being utilized can hold up to 700 migrant kids at a time - most of whom are expected to stay at least 30 days - at a total per-day cost to taxpayers of $542,500.