US border authorities are expelling migrant children from other countries into Mexico

Minors from Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador were sent to US’ neighbouring country

US border authorities have violated a diplomatic agreement with Mexico, by expelling migrant children from other nations into the neighbouring country, according to a report from The New York Times.

The expulsions are in direct conflict with a diplomatic agreement the US has with Mexico, in which the Mexican government agreed to help bring Mexican children back into the country if they attempted to cross the border into the US.

Under the diplomatic agreement, children from countries other than Mexico are supposed to be put on flights to their home nations, which are operated by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

The expulsions put children from countries such as Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador, at risk, by sending them into a country where they have no connections or family.

The Times reported that most of the children have been put into the care of child welfare authorities in Mexico, which oversee shelters organised by private groups and religious organisations.

At least 200 children in the past eight months have been expelled to Mexico from the US, despite not being citizens of the country.

An email from the US Border Patrol’s assistant chief, Eduardo Sanchez, obtained by the Times, confirmed that expulsions had taken place.

Mr Sanchez wrote: “Recently, we have identified several suspected instances where Single Minors (SM) from countries other than Mexico have been expelled via ports of entry rather than referred to ICE Air Operations for expulsion flights.

“Please note that if not corrected, these actions will place Title 42 operations in significant jeopardy and must be ceased immediately.”

By mentioning Title 42 operations, he was referring to the federal public health statute where the Trump administration’s border policy is placed.

Mr Sanchez added: “To reiterate, under no circumstances should a SM from a country other than Mexico be knowingly expelled to Mexico.”

The Times reported that Brian Hastings, the chief of the Border Patrol’s Rio Grande Valley sector, recently acknowledged that some expulsions had taken place.

While Mark Morgan, the acting commissioner of the Customs and Border Protection agency, said that if children from countries other than Mexico have been expelled to the country, it would be a violation of the diplomatic agreement.

The news has come a week after it was widely reported that the federal government has been unable to locate the parents of 545 children who were separated from the rest of their families after they crossed the US border.

Lawyers have been unable to find the parents of the children, after the majority of families were deported back to Central America, according to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).

A court filing from ACLU showed that they have only made contact with parents of 550 children out of the close to 1,000 families separated at the border in 2017, according to NBC News.

Last Friday, Trump campaign spokesman Tim Murtaugh claimed that that the reason some migrant families separated at the US border by the administration have not been reunited, is because the parents do not want their children back.

Speaking on CNN’s New Day on Friday morning, Mr Murtaugh said: “It’s a regrettable situation, certainly,” but claimed the problem is more complicated for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) than has been reported.

“The fact is it's not as simple as you make it sound or Joe Biden made it sound on the stage last night to locate the parents who are in other countries,” Mr Murtagh said.

“And when they do locate them, it has been DHS’ experience that in many cases the parents do not want the children returned,” he added.

During the final presidential debate between president Donald Trump and Democratic challenger Joe Biden last week, the pair clashed over the reports.

President Trump criticised the Obama administration for constructing detention centres for undocumented migrants to the US, and asked the Democratic candidate repeatedly: “Who made the cages?”

The Trump administration was responsible for the now-suspended policy that separated thousands of children from their parents at the border. The Obama administration first built the “cages” to temporarily hold the migrant children. 

Mr Biden said the Obama administration’s handling of immigration was “a mistake,” and added: “It took too long to get it right. I’ll be president of the United States, not vice president of the United States.”