Surrounded by adults discussing their next steps, a young migrant stands quietly amidst chaos at a bus station in McAllen, Texas on June 22, 2018.(Photo: Trevor Hughes, United States TODAY & # 39; HUI)

Federal authorities released a plan Saturday night to reunite migrant children with their parents in a mass detention center near Brownsville, Texas.

However, we do not know how long it will take to bring back parents with their children. And the statement from the US Department of Homeland Security states that the reunification process might not take place until the expulsion proceedings of a parent are completed.

Under the policy, a parent in an eviction proceeding must also request that his or her child be taken with them. It is unclear how often parents chose to be deported without their child, perhaps for the purpose of saving a child from violence in their home country.

It is also difficult to know how many parents, among the forced separations of the Trump administration, were deported without first being informed of where their children were or how to get them back.

The DHS Information Sheet on "Zero Tolerance" Policy and Family Reunification indicates that the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement has "dedicated the Port Isabel Service Processing Center as the primary clustering center". for the adults in their care.

According to the plan, a process has been put in place "to ensure that family members know where their children are and communicate regularly after separation to ensure that these adults are there. are reunited with their children before their dismissal.

"This process is well coordinated," the statement said.

This announcement comes amidst an emotional debate over more and more chaotic immigration, as thousands of children have been separated from their parents or other adults at the border in the framework of the zero tolerance policy.

In less than two months, at least 2,000 children have been separated from their parents or adults under the policy.

Political, religious, human rights and dozens of protesters have described family separations as immoral and anti-American.

More: Family separations have stopped, but how will children and parents be reunited?

Earlier this week, President Donald Trump, under national and international political pressure, overturned his administration's policy of separating children from their parents or adults after they crossed the border illegally.

But the brutal overthrow of Trump detailed in an order of execution came with some details on family reunification and raised widespread concerns about the imprisonment of children with their parents in detention centers.

Some legal analysts have said that the Trump order could go against the Flores vs Reno settlement of 1997. The agreement requires that migrants under 18 be released "without unnecessary delay" if they have a family member with whom to stay. In addition, the regulation requires that minors who are to remain in detention be placed "in the least restrictive environment possible".

In his executive order, Trump ordered US Attorney General Jeff Sessions to seek a regulatory amendment that could allow the government to detain families together.

As of June 20, the HHS has 2053 children separated from their parents or guardians, according to the statement. Children are in institutions funded by the HHS.

Officials work with reunifying "every minor and parent or guardian," according to the statement.

Seventeen percent of children in HHS-funded facilities were sent there because of the zero-tolerance policy, while 83 percent arrived in the US without a parent or guardian, officials said.

More: Relief, anger after legislators visit Florida Migrant Children's Shelter

Customs and border protection in the United States brought together 522 migrant children who were separated from their parents because of the zero tolerance policy.

Officials said that there is a "small number of children who have been separated for reasons other than zero tolerance who will remain separated".

According to the statement, children are usually kept from their parents or guardians if a family relationship can not be confirmed, an adult is considered a threat to the safety of the child or the adult is a criminal.

Immigration and human rights lawyers have expressed concern that many children may never be reunited with their parents because migrant parents fleeing violence often do not want to be reunited with their parents. no papers to prove their family relations.

Human rights defenders and lawyers reported that migrant parents were denied access to their children.

A Phoenix lawyer said that she has a client aged 20 or so at the Eloy Detention Center. At a recent meeting, the young woman told Stephanie Corcoran's lawyer the story of a police officer who used her as a translator for a clueless Spanish-speaking woman.

The woman asked, "Can you ask that they know where my child is?"

Corcoran said that the immigration and customs enforcement officer said, "When you will be deported, you will understand that."

The lawyers also sought clarification on who would constitute a criminal under Trump's policies, a statute that could also prevent reunification if the very act of crossing the border is considered a crime by federal officials under the strict Trump's position.

The ICE has published information in all its sites to inform detained parents who are trying to locate or talk with their children in detention in the HHS to call the detention line and information on the detention to obtain help. According to the statement, it will feature live operators Monday through Friday from 8:00 to 20:00.

Operators will provide parent information to the HHS, and ICE and HHS will coordinate the review of the parents' custody data to identify where each child is located, check the parent / child relationship and set up regular coordination communications and deletions, if necessary. "

Parents or guardians who are trying to determine if their child is in the custody of the Refugee Relocation Office or the HHS Administration for Children and Families should contact the National Call Center of the ORR (www.acf.hhs.gov/orr/resource/orr-national- call-center) at 1-800-203-7001, or by email at [email protected].

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According to the statement, within 24 hours of arrival at an HHS-funded facility, children are expected to have the opportunity to speak with a "parent, guardian, or parent."

Children should be able to talk to their parent or guardian by phone or video at least twice a week.

Each ICE field site has coordinators who handle cases throughout immigration court proceedings. And ICE maintains an online public site that can be used to locate people held by ICE

The plan lists the steps described by ICE to manage the reunification process:

  • Set up an identification mechanism to ensure the ongoing monitoring of family members during the detention and removal process;
  • Detention areas designated for separated parents and improve current processes for communicating with children in HHS custody;
  • Worked closely with foreign consulates to ensure that travel documents are issued to parents and the child at the time of abduction; and
  • Coordinated with HHS for the meeting of the child before the departure of the parents of the United States.

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