DETROIT – Michigan may play a role in easing overcrowding at border facilities.
The Great Lakes State was mentioned in a list of states along the Canadian Border to potentially be used in a little-known immigration program to help decrease over-crowding. It comes as thousands of migrants have shown up and pressure is increasing on the White House.
READ: Biden vows action on migrants as he defends border policy
Border Patrol officials may be looking to fly migrant children or families to other facilities on the other end of the country. According to emails obtained by the Washington Post, officials have requested air support from U.S. Immigration to relocate migrants to states like Michigan, South Dakota or Montana.
In a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro N. Mayorkas, Rep. Lisa McClain said she was disgusted with the idea and claimed it could put her district at risk of COVID-19 spread. So far, there has been no evidence that migrants are a significant source of spread.
As of March 28, three of the top five counties with the greatest weekly coronavirus growth factor are in McClain’s district.
The DHS program, known as ICE Air, was used during the Trump Administration at the height of immigration in 2019.
Rep. Rashida Tlaib visited the U.S. southern border Friday alongside other lawmakers to tour a facility in Texas.
“These are children,” Tlaib said. “And it’s very important that we are here to investigate what we see and to have that oversight and against whom right by these folks”
DHS has not made a decision on if they will use the ICE Air program, nor have they said which states would likely receive migrants should the program be used.