The Biden administration is asking Congress to approve a temporary housing program for migrant families that illegally cross the southern border — a plan that would give them more freedom than traditional detention, Axios has learned.

Why it matters: The government has struggled to balance humanitarian concerns about detaining migrant children while enforcing immigration laws amid a rise in families illegally crossing the border to seek asylum.

*The administration’s ask is part of a $40 billion emergency funding request to Congress. The package includes nearly $2.7 billion for the Department of Homeland Security’s various border efforts.