The US government is currently holding record numbers of immigrants in detention centers, as the figures for new immigrant arrivals continue to increase. Around 41,000 immigrants are being held in detention centers. This is a rise from the average figure of between 31,000 and 34,000, according to a press release on Thursday, from the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, Jeh Johnson.
Johnson added that the US government is currently acquiring extra space to be able to detain the new immigrants being apprehended on the US border until they can be sent back to their home nations. Around half of those held in the detention centers are immigrants claiming asylum, says Bob Libal, the executive director of the Austin-based advocacy organization, Grassroots Leadership. Libal says that until recently, those seeking asylum were set free until their day in court, but now a growing number are being detained in jail-like facilities.
Immigration has been put even more in the spotlight by this week’s election of Republican, Donald Trump as the new President of the US. Immigration was a major part of the controversial billionaire’s campaign and he has pledged to deport 11 million undocumented immigrants and build a wall on the border between the US and Mexico.
Advocacy groups are worried about the consequences of Trump’s victory as almost record numbers of immigrants continue to flow into the US, many of them fleeing violence in Central American nations. President Barack Obama has also removed more immigrants than any President before him.