Parents of 7 other separated migrant children have been found, lawyer says

The parents of seven other children separated under the Trump administration’s strict border policies have been traced since Wednesday, a lawyer working to reunite the families said.

That brings to 499 the number of children whose parents have not yet been reached, said Lee Gelernt, an attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union who has been involved in an effort to find the families of separated children.

Lawyers working on family reunification reported on Wednesday finding the parents of 105 children last month.

The steering committee of pro bono lawyers and advocates said at the time they had yet to find the parents of 506 children, up from 611 on January 14 – so finding the parents of seven other children raised that number. to 499.

Thousands of parents have been separated from their children under the administration of President Donald Trump, who instituted a “zero tolerance” policy and other measures on the US-Mexico border.

President Joe Biden’s administration recently formed a task force that will give the federal government responsibility for locating and reuniting families separated by the Trump administration.

The number of parents who have been joined is not the same as those who have been reunited, Gelernt said.

Lawyers hope to provide the Biden task force soon with a number of people who have been reunited, he said. One of the main reasons many parents remain separated is because they don’t want to bring their children back from the United States to dangerous countries of origin, according to Gelernt.

Phil helsel contributed.