US readies to expel ‘illegal’ C. American migrants

President Barack Obama’s administration is planning a vast operation to round up and expel from the United States migrant families who fled drought and violence in Central America, reports said on Thursday.

The flow of families and unaccompanied children crossing into the United States from Mexico slowed in the first half of 2015, but the numbers surged upwards again in October and November. Several La-tin American countries are in the grip of violent lawlessness and the El Nino weather pattern has plunged a number of countries in the region into drought.

The Department of Homeland Security did not dispute anonymously sou-rced reports in the Washington Post and Wall Street Journal that a crackdown is imminent. According to the reports, hundreds of families living in the US whose asylum requests have been denied will be rounded up and sent home.

DHS Immigration and Customs Enforcement spo-keswoman said that Hom-eland Security secretary Jeh Johnson “has consistently said our border is not open to illegal immigration. “If individuals come here illegally, do not qualify for asylum or other relief, and have final orders of removal, they will be sent back consistent with our laws and our values.”

Refugee rights activists argue the families are fleeing corruption, gang violence and drought in their homelands and should be treated as refugees.

Republican presidential hopefuls including frontrunner Donald Trump — who took to Twitter to cla-im credit for the deportations — are vying for who can promise the toughest stance on immigration. However, the Obama admi-nistration came under fire from Democratic presidential candidates. A spok-esman for the Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton, said she “has real concerns about these reports.”