Citing coronavirus, the U.S. is swiftly deporting unaccompanied migrant children
2020-03-31 08:54:53 source：CBS News
March 30, 2020
Citing a public health order to curb the coronavirus pandemic, the Trump administration is swiftly deporting unaccompanied migrant minors encountered near the U.S.-Mexico border, upending a long-standing practice required under a federal law designed to protect children from violence and exploitation.
Despite initially maintaining that the new measures would not apply to unaccompanied minors, Customs and Border Protection on Monday said its officials could deny entry to children who cross the southern border alone under an order by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or CDC. The agency said some minors could be excluded from the CDC directive if a border official "suspects trafficking or sees signs of illness."
The administration has been using the CDC order, based on a 1940s law that allows the government to bar the entry of foreigners whom it determines could carry a communicable disease, to rapidly turn back border-crossing migrants to Mexico or Canada — or to swiftly deport them to their home countries. Officials have said the objective is to prevent overcrowding in detention facilities where the coronavirus could spread.
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