The US strategy for fewer migrants to enter 2:58
(CNN) -
The Biden administration plans to accelerate the deportations of some immigrant families crossing the U.S.-Mexico border, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said Monday.
Some families will now be subject to fast-track removal procedures known as "expedited removal," which allows immigration authorities to remove a person without a hearing before an immigration judge.
The procedure will apply to families who are not promptly evicted under border policy related to the pandemic.
It is the latest indication of the Biden administration's caution over immigrants, including those seeking asylum, traveling to the southern border of the United States.
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When asked about Vice President Kamala Harris's "don't come" message to migrants, President Joe Biden reiterated during a CNN forum last week that "they shouldn't come."
He added that the administration is trying to address the root causes of migration.
"Attempting to cross into the United States between ports of entry, or bypassing inspection at ports of entry, is the wrong way to get to the United States," DHS said in a statement Monday.
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"These acts are dangerous and can have long-term immigration consequences for people who attempt to do so. The Biden-Harris Administration is working to build a safe, orderly and humane immigration system. And the Department of Homeland Security continues to take several steps to improving legal processing at ports of entry and reforms to strengthen the asylum system, "the Department added.
Increase in arrests of migrants at the borders
Over the weekend, Brian Hastings, the head of the Border Patrol in the Rio Grande Valley, tweeted about the arrests "skyrocketing," citing the arrests of more than 20,000 immigrants in the span of a week in that area.
In recent months, arrests of immigrant families have increased.
In June, the Border Patrol detained more than 50,000 immigrant families, up from 40,815 in May, according to the latest data available from US Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
US: 188,800 migrants cross the border in June 0:58
While tens of thousands of families have been turned away as a result of a Trump-era public health order related to the coronavirus pandemic, the number of families that have been subject to the policy has decreased since March, data from CBP.
But the administration has struggled to host those families, relying on organizations along the border and hotels for processing.
The Biden administration also said, in May, that it planned to speed up court cases for newly arrived immigrant families seeking asylum.
A long process in court
Immigrants fighting deportation generally have the opportunity to present their cases in court.
There they can ask judges to allow them to remain in the United States on the grounds that they qualify for asylum or other legal options.
Cases can often take months, if not years, due to a delay in immigration court.
That drives the effort to establish a process meant to work quickly.
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The Obama and Trump administrations tried to hear the cases quickly, drawing criticism from immigrant advocates and attorneys, who argued that the process risked speeding up asylum cases and undermining due process.
A Homeland Security official previously emphasized to CNN that the key difference now is that families will have early and broad access to legal representation and judges will not be subject to strict time restrictions.
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