(Eric Gay / Associated Press)The Biden administration is considering forcing some migrant families who enter the country without authorization to remain near the border in Texas while awaiting asylum screening, effectively limiting their ability to travel within the United States, three U.S. officials told The Times. Administration officials have been considering the idea as a way to stem recent increases in the numbers of migrant families crossing the southern border, which reportedly reached an all-time high last month. Administration officials had hoped that the FERM program, together with videos and news releases highlighting families being deported, would help deter additional families from entering the U.S. without authorization. The Biden administration's treatment of migrant families has come under criticism from immigrant advocates, who say the families do not have reasonable access to attorneys or time to prepare their asylum cases. But the administration has thus far refused to revive the Trump- and Obama-era practice of detaining migrant families at the border.

Source: Los Angeles Times September 07, 2023 21:20 UTC