Federal authorities are reportedly considering putting ankle monitors on members of migrant families to ensure they stay in Texas while they are screened for asylum eligibility.
Three Biden administration officials told the Los Angeles Times that the administration was pondering the move as a way to prevent migrants from moving into the interior of the country. The Times reported that the administration sees keeping migrant families in Texas as a potential solution to stemming the flow of family arrivals.
Keeping migrants closer to the border makes them easier to deport if they are ineligible for asylum status. If the administration goes through with monitoring and restricting the movement of migrants in Texas, it would mirror the Family Expedited Removal Management program, which subjects migrants in select cities to curfews and GPS tracking.
Family arrivals at the southern border reached an all-time high last month, with Border Patrol arresting 91,000 migrants in family groups, according to the Washington Post.
The administration’s action comes as Democratic leaders across the country face pressure from their constituents to deal with the strain caused by migrants flooding their jurisdictions. Some, such as New York City mayor Eric Adams and Massachusetts governor Maura Healey, have appealed directly to the Biden administration for help.
Adams, whose administration previously launched a campaign to celebrate immigrants, now says the migrants "will destroy New York City." There have been several high-profile crimes committed by migrants in the city, with one Venezuelan man raping a three-year-old and a further 41 people being arrested since May at the Roosevelt Hotel, which has been converted into a migrant shelter.