The Biden administration has maintained that its policy at the southern border during the COVID-19 pandemic is to expel families trying to enter the United States. White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki, for instance, said there are only "narrow, narrow circumstances in which families can't be expelled." But Department of Homeland Security data leaked to Axios suggests expulsions are actually happening infrequently.
The data reportedly shows an average of 13 percent of nearly 13,000 family members attempting to cross the U.S.-Mexico border were turned away between March 14 and March 21, which Axios notes is "a sign of how the administration is struggling to keep up with a migration surge." But it also highlights the fact that Mexico has been unable to take in the amount of families the U.S. would otherwise turn away. "In situations where expulsion is not possible due to Mexico's inability to receive the families, they are placed into removal proceedings," a DHS spokesperson told Axios. Those proceedings can sometimes take years, Axios writes. Read more at Axios.