About 218,400 people who illegally entered the U.S. or showed up without proper documentation at a port of entry at the southwest border were allowed into the country since late December, the Washington Examiner is reporting.
For now, they are not subject to deportation – at least until they get a hearing in about two to five years, according to the Examiner.
Those released were officially classified as family units – meaning each person arrived at the border with a child or parent. However, adults sometimes arrive with children who are unrelated and then claim to be a family, the website said.
The Examiner noted a 2015 court ruling mandated Immigration and Custom Enforcement not hold a child more than 20 days, forcing the agency to set free those people because immigration judges are unable to hear new cases for two to five years.
Those released are permitted to live an any part of the U.S. while they await the court hearings. About 82,300 were released in central Texas. Another 74,700 were set free in El Paso, Texas.
Meanwhile, the American Civil Liberties Union said more than 900 migrant children have been forcibly separated from their parents despite a 2018 court ruling. The ACLU is asking for a court hearing on the issue.