[ad_1]
The US government has reunited 522 migrant children separated from adults as part of President Trump's "zero tolerance" immigration policy, the Department of Homeland Security said Saturday.
The government "knows the location of all the children in its custody and is working to reunite them with their families," the ministry said in a statement.
After weeks of public pressure, Trump signed a decree Wednesday to end the separation of families at the border by holding them together for an indefinite period.
The separations began after the federal government announced in April that it would pursue a "zero tolerance" policy of criminally prosecuting all adults who have crossed the border illegally or attempted to do so.
While adults were sent to prison or indefinite detention, more than 2,300 children were separated and sent to government-approved shelters or temporary foster homes.
The government's efforts to match separated migrant children with their guardians face considerable obstacles. In addition, the family reunification process as well as the indefinite detention they face once they're back together could have psychological consequences for parents and children, according to experts.
The ministry said in the statement that 16 more children should be reunited with adults within 24 hours. Previous attempts for these children have been delayed due to weather conditions that have affected their ability to travel.
Some children will remain separated from the adults with whom they traveled if a family relationship can not be established or if the safety of children with these adults is a concern, the department added.
On Wednesday, 2,053 separated children were held in federal health and social services facilities, the statement said. Children can talk on the phone or video to a parent or guardian twice a week.
According to the authorities, children separated from adults at border crossings account for 17% of all minors held by the agency, the others having arrived in the United States unaccompanied.
Federal employees, some of whom were in conflict with Mr. Trump's policy, have worked overtime in order to reunite the thousands of children and parents who were separated at the border for several weeks this spring.
The Federal Office for Refugee Resettlement has set up a toll-free number for parents looking for their children.
But parents said that they had gained little information using the number, while some discovered that their children are being held in more than one state. Other parents have already been deported and are trying to locate their children abroad. Officials said that parents who are expelled from the United States may request that their minor children leave with them.
Critics have also said that many migrants in federal custody do not have a phone number where agencies can call them back.
Source link
