Monitor calls on US to stop detaining migrant kids in hotels

A court-appointed monitor for immigrant youth called on U.S. government to stop detaining children as young as 1 in hotels before expelling m to ir home countries, saying practice could le to emotional and physical harm.

In a report filed late Wednesday, Andrea Ordin also said re appeared to be a “lack of formal oversight” over contractors hired by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to detain children at Hampton Inn & Suites hotels in three cities.

“Isolating a child alone in a hotel room for 10-14 days can have a more harmful emotional impact than that seen in ults,” she wrote.

Trump ministration is detaining children inste of turning m over to government shelters under an emergency declaration citing coronavirus. ministration argues it must shut down U.S.-Mexico border to asylum seekers due to virus, but vocates allege virus is being used as an excuse to circumvent federal anti-trafficking law and court-ordered standards for treatment of children.

Associated Press reported Wednesday that Hampton Inns in Phoenix and Texas border cities of McAllen and El Paso have been used nearly 200 times in two months to detain children government is waiting to expel. An vocate who visited McAllen hotel found that workers were going room to room on fourth and fifth floors caring for children. In one room, a small child held onto a gate as an ult played with child on or side, vocate said.

At least two 1-year-olds were held for three days, according to government data obtained by AP. But some young children, including 3- to 5-year-olds, were detained for two weeks or longer. One 5-year-old was detained for 19 days in McAllen.

In her report, Ordin described hotels as having become “an integral component of immigration detention system.”

She provided new details on how hotel detention is supposed to work. Children are separated into hotel rooms by and , with siblings allowed to have joining rooms with a connecting door. A child must be “within line of sight” of a contractor at all times. contractors — whom ICE refers to as “transportation specialists” — must wear business casual clothing that cant be used to identify m.

Children are required to receive three hot meals and snacks. Rooms are cleaned once a day by hotel staff, and all children are supposed to receive both a surgical and N95 mask.

“Younger children may sometimes play in enclosed pool areas for short supervised periods, but generally, residents have little to access to recreation,” Ordin said. “Mirs in temporary housing also lack access to education and rapy/counseling. Visitation is t permitted, but residents can call or video chat friends, family, and legal counsel upon request.”

HHS facilities, meanwhile, have bedrooms and schooling, and children are given access to lawyers and social workers while y await placement with family sponsors. facilities also are licensed by states where y’re located. Federal anti-trafficking law requires government to promptly refer most children to HHS.

re are at least 10,000 beds available in HHS shelters since border authorities have largely stopped referring children to facilities and expel m inste.

ICE said Tuesday that it uses contractor MVM Inc. “to transport single mirs to hotels and to ensure each mir remains safe and secure while in this temporary housing.” MVM h a contract with ICE for “transportation services” extended for $49 million on March 31, according to federal contracting data. company declined to answer questions, and ICE declined to provide furr comment Thursday.

Trump ministration has expelled at least 2,000 children since March, along with tens of thousands of ults, citing threat of coronavirus. According to Ordin, re has been assessment yet of wher contractors and ICE are doing eugh to prevent spre of virus in hotel detention. She pointed out that hotel employees cleaning rooms fall outside any government protocols.

COVID-19 has ravd much of West and South, particularly Texas’ Rio Grande Valley, where McAllen is located. Hampton Inn in McAllen was used 123 times in April and June to detain children, according to records obtained by AP.