U.S Immigration Officials will house Migrant Children at Guantánamo Bay

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The U.S administration is considering housing migrant children at the U.S military prison at Guantánamo Bay. It would help in handling an uptick in the number of immigrants crossing the U.S southern border. The supposed idea was first proposed earlier this year as the DHS (Department of Homeland Security) looked for military facilities where migrants could be held as they wait for their cases to be processed. The proposal hasn’t gained much traction. The DHS officials informed the New York Times that the idea wasn’t ideal due to the optics involved with housing children right next to terrorism suspects in the notorious American prison.

The United States is seeking military facilities to help hold asylum seekers and migrants as it faces a surge in the number of immigrants crossing the U.S-Mexico border and looking help. The New York Times reported that there isn’t any immediate plan to actually bring children to Guantanamo Bay. The base has only a potential housing location due to it has dormitory facilities that have been used for asylum seekers in the past. The Department of Defense also confirmed that military bases are being looked at as potential sites for housing migrants.

The stream of migrants seen crossing the border into the U.S has overwhelmed short-term holding facilities in the southern U.S. It left officials scrambling to identify longer-term locations for keeping immigrants coming into the United States. The capacity problems have been exacerbated by the Trump administration’s decision to resist so-called catch and release programs. It will allow immigrants to be released into the U.S general population as they await the conclusion of their legal cases. The ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) now has more than 50,000 migrants in its care. It has been considered one of the highest numbers to be detained in American history.