U.S. deports 400 migrant children under new coronavirus rules

FILE PHOTO: A migrant child disembarks a U.S. Border Patrol bus at the processing center and shelter in Deming, New Mexico, U.S. May 27, 2019. Picture taken May 27, 2019. REUTERS/Adria Malcolm/File Photo

WASHINGTON/NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. immigration officials have rapidly deported nearly 400 migrant children intercepted at the U.S.-Mexico border in the past two weeks under new rules billed as seeking to limit the spread of the novel coronavirus in the United States, according to government data seen by Reuters.

President Donald Trump's administration implemented new border rules on March 21 that scrapped decades-long practices under laws meant to protect children from human trafficking and offer them a chance to seek asylum in a U.S. immigration court. Under the new rules, U.S. officials can quickly remove people without standard immigration proceedings.