thehill.com/...
In an unprecedented move, the Obama administration started off the new year arresting and deporting Central American women and children who came to the United States fleeing extreme violence in their home countries.
Our response to the humanitarian crisis south of our border has not been good. 5 to 10 children have been in a month after being deported back to Honduras. www.huffingtonpost.com/…
Almost 63,000 unaccompanied minors -- the vast majority from the violence-plagued Central American countries of Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala -- have crossed illegally into the United States since October. Many are fleeing the gang violence, poverty and political instability that has made the so-called “Northern Triangle” countries some of the most dangerous in the world.
Instead of treating these children well, the Obama administration has locked them up, sometimes in kennels (see Kos — www.dailykos.com/...). Oftentimes, these kids don’t get lawyers, which substantially affects the likelihood of them staying in the United States. The administration has created rocket dockets to quickly deport the children.
The White House, for its part, has responded to the crisis by pushing to expedite the deportation process for Central American minors and families traveling together in order to send the message to would-be migrants and human traffickers that those who arrive won’t be allowed to stay.
Hilary Clinton condoned this policy, “"We have to send a clear message, just because your child gets across the border, that doesn't mean the child gets to stay.”
www.huffingtonpost.com/…
Groups like the ACLU have sued to protect these kids but the deportations continue. Bernie Sanders was one of 33 Senators to openly oppose our family detention facilities but the administration still uses them.
One possible answer to this problem would be for the Obama administration to give temporary protected status to people from these countries. As Ramey writes
Temporary Protected Status allows the president to halt deportations to any country he designates for between 6 and 18 months. There are several situations in which he can do this, for example, when there is "an ongoing armed conflict within the [country] and, due to such conflict, requiring the return of aliens... would pose a serious threat to their personal safety." The president may also halt deportations when there are "extraordinary and temporary conditions... that prevent aliens... from returning... in safety".
TPS would be an easy way for this administration to deal with this problem by legally side-stepping Congress.
EDIT — My apologies for posting this before it was finished. Short story is I’m an idiot. Longer story is I had too many things going on at the same time.