The Biden Administration is reportedly preparing to spend $86 million on hotel rooms to help migrant families stranded on the Mexican border.
Per The Independent, the Department of Homeland Security officials told Axios that a six-month contract will be put in place to help approximately 1,200 families be put up in hotels in Texas and Arizona.
The contract, which will allocate hotel rooms over a six-month period, was awarded through the Texas-based nonprofit organization Endeavors. The contract is also subject to an extension and expansion if required.
The publication also reports that the White House has been managing a surge in immigration numbers since President Biden's inauguration back in January.
In February, border officials reportedly encountered 18,945 family members and 9,279 unaccompanied children - an increase of 168% and 63% respectively since January.
The Biden Administration has also insisted they need time in order to rebuild a safe and humane system - in the meantime encouraging migrants not to come to the border.
Back in January, the White House said it will be conducting a "top-to-bottom review of recent regulations, policies, and guidance that have set up barriers to our legal immigration system."
However, despite the figures being described as a "crisis" by Republican leaders and lawmakers, the Associated Press reports that these figures are still far lower than those the Trump administration faced back in May of 2019. There was also a spike in arrival numbers under President Obama in 2014.
Politico also reports that the surge in arrivals is also the result of the Trump Administration's attempts to "dismantle" the US asylum system over the last four years. There was also a spike in arival numbers under President Obama in 2014.
Regarding the choice of hotel rooms for temporary accommodation, Axios reports that the practice is nothing new, adding that they are "likely a safer option than border patrol stations".
President Biden's officials have also stated that they will not expel unaccompanied minors, the Independent reports.
That being said, Axios reports that the Biden Administration has been increasing the pressure on the Mexican government to improve their own immigration enforcement, and work with the US in helping to slow the number of Central Americans coming to the US-Mexico border through the country.
