Family separations at the border was one of the most controversial problems with the Trump administration’s immigration policy over the past four years. The numbers of children who became separated from their parents rose to such a high level under Trump’s policies that it amounted to serious crimes against humanity. Recently, the lawyers working to reunite immigrant parents and children separated by the Trump administration reported this week that they have found the parents of 105 children in the past month ALONE. Groups of pro-bono lawyers and advocates working on reunification said it had yet to find the parents of 506 children, which was at least reduced by the 105 figure whose parents were found. It is unfortunately believed that about 322 of the 506 children have been deported, making it more difficult to find them.
The Biden administration recently formed a task force that will place the responsibility of finding and reuniting the families separated by
the Trump administration, primarily under the “zero tolerance policy” of 2018, in the hands of the federal government. In their court filing Wednesday, lawyers representing the separated families and working to reunite them said they would work with the task force. Many advocates hope the task force will
commit to bring the deported parents back to the U.S. under special protections to reunite with their children. One reason it has been so hard to find parents is that many agreed to be deported without their children to allow their children to remain in the U.S. to claim asylum. The Biden administration decided to reopen temporary shelters for
migrant children arriving on the US southern border. However, some minors who arrive with adults are still being turned away.
The need for temporary shelters has come from capacity levels at permanent facilities being cut in
half due to COVID-19 measures. Overflow shelters and tented facilities had been opened, including a location in
Carrizo Springs, Texas.
