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A new report from the Department of Homeland Security Inspector General has called for the immediate removal of immigrants held in New Mexico’s Torrance County Detention Facility. It is unusual for the Office of Inspector General to recommend the immediate closure of an ICE jail. ICE has called into question the findings of the report, which says immigrants have been held in unsanitary living conditions and amid security lapses. Inspectors reported seeing clogged toilets, faulty sinks and mold throughout the facility, and included pictures. The Office of Inspector General says ICE’s disagreement is in “direct conflict with its own documentation” and rejects every claim that its investigation was dishonest. Buzzfeed News
In other federal immigration news…
DHS Withdraws Trump-Era Rule That Sped Up Deportation Process
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security is rescinding a rule put in place during the Trump administration that expanded quick deportations for people who enter the U.S. illegally without a hearing in immigration court. DHS said the “expedited removal” process is best focused on people who recently entered the U.S. and remain in close proximity to the border, rather than those targeted by Trump’s sweeping 2019 expansion, including those who who have been in the country longer and developed ties to their communities. Reuters
Biden Admin. Prepares for Potential Mass Migration at U.S.-Mexico Border
The Biden administration is preparing for the possibility of mass migration to the U.S.-Mexico border. Border authorities have been relying on the Title 42 expulsion policy to turn away migrants since March 2020, but as the pandemic landscape evolves, discussions about terminating that order have picked up speed. Internal documents meanwhile have shown estimates of how many people are within hours or days of the U.S.-Mexico border and who might plan to migrate to the United States. Those estimates, first reported by Axios, include around 170,000 people coming to the U.S. southern border and some 25,000 migrants already in shelters in Mexico. CNN
