Traveling with children is helping migrants avoid detentionMigrants generally lack understanding of United States immigration law. The majority know to request asylum at the border, either at an official port of entry or when they surrender to border agents shortly after sneaking into the country from Mexico. By law, the government cannot keep migrant families in holding facilities at the border for more than 72 hours. It must either transfer them to an immigration detention facility suitable for children or release them. The government has been letting thousands of detained migrants go free each week because it lacks enough beds to hold them in family detention facilities.

Source: New York Times March 05, 2019 23:32 UTC