WASHINGTON — The Trump administration is weighing a new policy that would fast-track the deportation of thousands of Central American teenagers who arrived at the southern border, unaccompanied by adults.
According to two sources with knowledge of the developing policy proposal, the Justice Department under Attorney General Jeff Sessions wants to avoid creating a new protected class of undocumented immigrants, given how politically difficult it has been for the administration to unwind another program — DACA, which protected young people brought by adults to the country illegally when they were children.
This new policy would call for expedited deportation of another group — the more than 150,000 children who arrived at the southern border alone, escaping violence and poverty in El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala. Under the plan being discussed, teens in this group would be sent back to their countries when they turn 18 under a fast-track deportation, which means they would not see an immigration judge first.
“This administration still has its hands somewhat tied with what it can do with that population,” said a U.S. official familiar with the discussions. “Because the law, especially for the children, doesn’t give the administration a lot of flexibility with how to deal with unaccompanied children.”
The proposal is being drafted via memos circulated between the Justice and Homeland Security departments. It has set off an aggressive debate inside these departments among staff charged with reducing illegal immigration, government lawyers who worry about legal exposure and political operatives who see the public controversy this could fuel.
“This is being viewed as a way to say that there will not need to be a new DACA,” said a former U.S. Justice Department official who is familiar with the current planning. “But this is far from decided. The concern is that most people at DOJ know this will likely be viewed as illegal and do not want to have to defend this in court if they can avoid it.”
A U.S. official reached by McClatchy on Wednesday said the administration’s priorities are unchanged.
“The Trump administration’s commitment to securing the southern border remains the same,” said the administration official. “All Americans deserve responsible immigration reform, which will include massive border security and border enforcement.”
Minors, unaccompanied by adults, have flocked from Central America to the U.S. border for years. But in 2014, there was a surge. That year, nearly 70,000 unaccompanied children — mostly from Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador — flooded the U.S. border, overwhelming the Border Patrol and creating a humanitarian crisis that Washington, then under former President Barack Obama, struggled to handle.
