A policy known as catch and release is being implemented in the US as a solution to the overwhelming numbers of migrants that have descended on the border with Mexico.
Immigration processing centers have been overwhelmed by the number of people pouring over the border and, in an attempt to alleviate some of the burden that is being placed on the centres, families are being transported hundreds of miles and left at various locations including Greyhound stations and churches in cities as far away as Albuquerque, New Mexico, San Antonio, Texas, and Phoenix, Arizona.
Typically, families seeking asylum in the US are released from custody immediately and allowed to settle in the country with relatives or friends while their cases are heard. Now, families are hastily being assigned court dates, the head of household is fitted with an ankle monitor, and they are dropped off, often with no money and very little support.
It has been suggested that this influx is the direct result of the policy implemented by the Trump administration whereby border patrol agents at legitimate checkpoints have slowed down the review and processing of asylum seekers’ applications. This has led migrants to enter the US at various non-authorised locations. When they are found to be in the US illegally, they are intercepted and detained.
Customs and Border Protection, the agency that initially apprehends people, is also overextended. Instead of holding families for up to 72 hours then turning them over to ICE, it has started releasing them directly on to the streets.
Relief organisations have likened the situation to the aftermath of a natural disaster and lament the fact that more government assistance is not being sent to the area however government agencies at all levels are refusing to take responsibility for the migrants. From the federal government, to states and at city level, all are turning a blind eye to what is becoming an extremely serious humanitarian crisis. Emergency assistance or funding has been ineffectual or non-existent.
