DHS: 1,000 children separated at border still waiting to be reunited with family

Feb. 2 (UPI) — About 1,000 children, representing a quarter of those known to have been separated from their families at the U.S.-Mexico border under the previous Trump administration, have yet to be reunited with their parents, the Department of Homeland Security said Thursday.

The news comes as the Department of Homeland Security celebrates the second anniversary of its task force tasked with bringing these families together.

The Family Reunification Task Force was created by President Joe Biden’s February 2, 2020 executive order fulfilling a campaign promise to form such a task force to bring together migrant families torn apart by his predecessor’s controversial hard line. “tolerance” of immigration policy.

The task force has identified 3,924 children to date who were separated between January 20, 2017 and January 20, 2021, the day of Biden’s inauguration, and a week before Trump’s policy. was officially canceled.

AT update The Department of Homeland Security said Thursday that the task force has reunited more than 600 children in the past two years, for a total of 2,926. However, 998 remain divided.

Of those children who have yet to be reunited, 148 are in the process of reunification, and 183 families have been informed of the possibility of reunification through a hired non-governmental organization.

“We understand that our critical work is not yet complete,” Homeland Security Minister Alejandro Mallorcas said. statement.

“The Task Force continues to coordinate with families who have been separated to ensure they can reunite in the United States and receive critically needed mental health services to manage their trauma.”

According to a departmental fact sheet, 735 families were provided with behavioral health case management services and 385 families were provided with behavioral health assessments and treatment.

The task force said the number of identified families separated under Trump’s policies continues to rise as they come forward, adding that when it first presented the information it had on families it was a “patchwork quilt” at best. , and they had to piece together segmented documentation. .

“Over the past two years, we have made great strides in reuniting separated families and fulfilling our mandate,” the agency said. “This important work will continue until all the separated families that can be found have been given the opportunity to be reunited.”

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