Immigration Officials Tour Potential Locations To Hold Detained Migrant Youth As Number Continues To Swell
Acting Homeland Security Secretary Kevin McAleenan told reporters Friday that illegal crossings along the southwest border are overwhelming his department’s resources and that federal immigration authorities now have more than 80,000 people in custody, “a record level that is beyond sustainable capacity with current resources.” Meanwhile, Mark Morgan, acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, say the agency will step up deportation efforts.
Atlanta Journal-Constitution:
Government Eyeing Fort Benning To Shelter Immigrant Children
The Trump administration is considering sheltering unaccompanied immigrant children apprehended along the southwest border at Fort Benning, the sprawling Columbus-area military installation, according to the Pentagon and U.S. Health and Human Services Department.It is unknown how many children could be housed there and for how long. But Acting Defense Secretary Pat Shanahan approved a request from the Department of Health and Human Services in April for the Pentagon to find space for up to 5,000 at military bases. (Redmon, 6/4)
The Associated Press:
Immigration Official Looks To Step Up Family Deportations
The new top immigration official signaled Tuesday his agency is looking to step up deportations of families who are in the United States illegally, actions that would likely run into logistical hurdles and face strong public opposition. Mark Morgan, acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, said the agency would continue to prioritize deportations of people who have criminal histories, but that no one should be exempt from enforcement. (6/4)
And in other news —
Bloomberg:
Immigrants Help To Alleviate U.S. Health Care Staffing Shortage
The health care skills gap would be even larger without American immigrants. In 2017, immigrants accounted for 18.2 percent of health care workers, according to a study published in Health Affairs. As the U.S. faces a shortage of health care workers, immigrants have helped fill some of the gaps. Migrants, in particular, are covering key shortage positions such as rural physicians, wrote Leah Zallman, an assistant professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and lead author of the study. A growing elderly population and strict licensing requirements required of many health care workers has contributed to the shortage. (Hagan, 6/3)
