Lawsuits expected if Biden decides to detain migrant families at the border

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is planning to sue the Biden administration if it decides to detain migrant families at the southern border. It’s one of multiple proposals the administration is considering ahead of the end of Title 42 on May 11.

“Putting children and their parents behind barbed wire to deter them from seeking safety should shock the conscience of every American who believes in fairness, safety, and basic human dignity for all people,” Anthony Romero, executive director of the ACLU, said in a statement. “We will fight him every step of the way.”

The New York Times and Wall Street Journal reported the Biden administration is planning for the end of Title 42, which allowed migrants to be deported almost immediately on public health grounds. Illegal immigration is expected to surge when it’s over.

If the Biden administration does decide to detain the families, officials said it will be done in compliance with the Flores settlement agreement, which sets standards for the quality of facilities unaccompanied children must be held in, and prevents them from being detained for more than 20 days. 

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said the best solution is comprehensive immigration reform. He said he will ask Sens. Kyrsten Sinema, I-Ariz., and Thom Tillis, R-N.C., to reintroduce a bipartisan plan they brought forward at the end of last year that never got over the finish line.

“I think the best way to solve this problem is in a bipartisan solution. That’s the only way it’s worked,” Sen. Schumer said.

Republicans are continuing to criticize the Biden administration’s handling of the border. They contend he’s not doing enough. 

“I’ve seen no indication that the Biden administration is serious about controlling the human train wreck at the border. In fact, I think the Biden administration, it’d be a lot more intellectually honest, if it would just come out and say we believe in an open borders, we believe that vetting people at the border is racist,” Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., said.

In addition to the Tillis-Sinema bill, Sens. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., and Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., also introduced a bipartisan proposal to give “Dreamers,” or people who were brought to the U.S. illegally as children, a pathway to citizenship. Graham said he would only support that though if his separate bill to overhaul the asylum system also passes.