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The Biden administration just settled a lawsuit to fully reopen the largest private migrant detention center in the US — “rolling the red carpet’’ out for President-elect Trump’s mass deportation plan, liberal critics say.
There are currently just three detainees being held at the 1,940-bed Adelanto ICE Processing Center about 80 miles northeast of Los Angeles, according to ICE data.
That’s because the massive facility has been under a judge’s order since 2020 blocking it from taking in more detainees thanks to a lawsuit concerning the spread of COVID there.
But with the recent settlement with the Democratic White House, the facility is expected to now fully open — a move blasted by migrant-rights lawyers as playing into Trump’s hands. The agreement just has to be signed off on by a judge.
“Well F–k, what can I say, Biden Admin and DOJ are rolling the red carpet for Trump’s deportation machine,” wrote California-based immigration lawyer Nicolette Glazer in an X post — adding to The Post that the settlement is “bad news.”
Hardeep Sull, director at the American Immigration Lawyers Association, said on X, “Now that is a way to mess with Christmas Eve Eve! Biden’s legacy against people!”
The move could very well end up opening the door for Trump’s mass deportations.
In a recent interview with The Post, Trump’s border czar, Tom Homan, said he is putting together a plan “to get far more detention capability” before illegal migrants can ultimately be deported from the US, citing the Adelanto COVID order in the chat.
In a 2023 letter to ICE, Rep. Jay Obernolte (R-Calif.), whose district houses Adelanto, said the facility is “fully funded” by “taxpayer resources” despite holding just a handful of migrants and despite Biden lifting the national coronavirus emergency.
“The Administration declared the COVID-19 emergency over on May 11th of this year. The federal government’s reliance on ‘catch and release’ has forced states, counties, and cities throughout the country to declare a state of emergency due to the financial burden that has been placed on our local communities,” the congressman said, referring to US immigration policies that free most of the migrants caught illegally entering the country.
“It’s time for ICE and the DOJ to rectify this situation and get the Adelanto ICE Processing Center back into regular use,” he added.
The Biden admin was set to close the Adelanto in December before ICE jumped in and launched a 60-day evaluation of the facility, followed by another 120-day check for “additional time for potential relief from ongoing litigation that prevents full use of the facility,” Fox News reported.
ICE did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment.
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