Migrant families separated by Trump could be reunited in the US
National Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said that family reunification is a “moral imperative” of the Biden government.
Migrant families separated at the border during the previous Donald Trump administration, could be reunited within the United States, said this Monday, the Secretary of Homeland Security, Alejandro Mayorkas.
Mayorkas said the DHS, will offer separated families the option of reuniting in the US or in their home countries.
“We are hoping to reunite the families, either here or in the country of origin,” DHS Sec. Alejandro Mayorkas says.
If they are reunited in the U.S., he adds, “we will explore lawful pathways for them to remain in the United States.” https://t.co/oTX2UWGwz2 pic.twitter.com/ERjTwwwh2t
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“If they do indeed seek to reunite here in the US, we will explore legal avenues for them to remain in here”. And to address the needs of the family so that we act in the most restorative way possible,” he added.
Zero Tolerance Policy to migrant families
More than 5,500 migrant children were ripped from their parents at the border under Trump’s so-called Zero Tolerance policy. Also, more than 1,400 parents were deported without their children.
Mayorkas called the policy “the most powerful and heartbreaking example of the cruelty that preceded this administration”.
Reversion
It’s one of several Trump-era immigration policies that Biden’s DHS is working to reverse, but Mayorkas warned the changes wouldn’t happen overnight.
“It takes time to build from the depths of the cruelty established by the administration that preceded us,” he said.
Other benefits and protections that the task force will provide to separated families include transportation, health, and mental health services. Also, legal, professional and educational services, without the costs being passed on to the families.
