At least 8,800 migrant children who arrived at the southern border without their parents have been swiftly expelled from the country and denied U.S. refuge during the pandemic under an emergency policy, the Trump administration told a federal court on Friday.

In addition to the unaccompanied minors, approximately 7,600 members of migrant families with children have been expelled from the U.S.-Mexico border since the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a public health order authorizing these expulsions in mid-March.

With single adults accounted for, more than 159,000 expulsions have been carried out under the unprecedented restrictions, which the Trump administration says are designed to avert coronavirus outbreaks inside migrant holding facilities and among the broader U.S. population.

“The numbers are stunning,” Lindsay Toczylowski, the executive director of the Immigrant Defenders Law Center, told CBS News. “Having talked to so many kids who come here seeking asylum and knowing the …continued .
[Source: CBS News]