According to the Center for Justice and International Law (Cejil), the United States would be deepening “human rights violations” of people “in need of international protection” with the new authorization that allows the detention of undocumented families and children for longer than current standards establish.
Cejil is a group of human rights defenders who work to reduce inequality, discrimination and violence by strengthening democracies, protecting and promoting human rights and fighting impunity in the region.
Marcela Martino, deputy director of Cejil, an NGO with consultative status before the Organization of American States (OAS) founded in 1991, said on the subject that “international law is clear: migrant children cannot be detained for any reason”.
As reported by several media reports, on Wednesday, the U.S. government announced a plan to detain undocumented families and children longer than current regulations allow, even indefinitely, in an attempt to hold the flood of Central America undocumented immigrants.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) explained in a statement that the decision, published in the Federal Register tomorrow, will take effect in 60 days. The resolution is intended to put an end to the so-called Flores Agreement, which has established protection measures for unaccompanied migrant children since 1997, ranging from social benefits to maximum periods of detention.
In addition, the Department of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) said they investigate “child trafficking and fraudulent documents used,” which, they say, take advantage of “legal loopholes in family migration.”
Kevin McAleenan, acting DHS secretary, explained on Twitter that “today’s action addresses a court-imposed weakness in immigration law that prevented DHS from detaining a family together for more than 20 days and codifies critical commitments on the conditions for children in Federal care.”
The Deputy Director of Cejil warned that “if the measure announced by the Trump Administration comes into effect, which adds to its efforts to stop migration across the Southern border at all costs, human rights violations against migrants and those in need of international protection will deepen”.
The deputy director of Cejil explained that those who will be subject to these measures “are children coming from situations of high risk and violence”.
The Cejil directive, an entity that is also a consultant to the UN and the African Commission on Human Rights, added that “it is imperative to safeguard the best interests of children and their physical and mental integrity, as well as the full observance of their human rights.”
The current number of arrests on the southern border is impressive. 132,870 arrests of undocumented immigrants at the border with Mexico were reported, of which 84,491 corresponded to family groups that the authorities define as individuals accompanied by a minor, a parent or a legal guardian.
Translated by: José Espinoza
Noticias Newswire
