US to begin reuniting migrant families separated under Trump
WASHINGTON, United States — The United States will begin reuniting migrant children with their parents this week after they were separated by the administration of former president Donald Trump, Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas said Monday.
Mayorkas tweeted that four mothers who had fled "extremely dangerous situations in their home countries" would be reunited with children as young as three years old.
"We are pleased that the process of reunifications is beginning this week and that these four mothers will be hugging their children after so many years," he wrote.
The Family Reunification Task Force has been working day and night to address the prior administration’s cruel separation of children from their parents. I’m proud to announce we will begin to reunite the first of those families. https://t.co/zNugQ1aFWf pic.twitter.com/7Z6wMie3wi
— Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas (@SecMayorkas) May 3, 2021
He added in a statement released by his department that the move was "just the beginning."
"We are reuniting the first group of families, many more will follow, and we recognize the importance of providing these families with the stability and resources they need to heal."
President Joe Biden has prioritized a special task force to reunify the hundreds of families as part of his sweeping rolling back of Trump's hardline policies, which focused on deterring migration from Central America.
Biden has called the family separations a "moral failure and a national shame."
Trump announced his zero tolerance policy towards undocumented migrants in 2018, declaring that they would be arrested and charged with a crime.
As part of the new regime children were separated from their parents, on a promise that the families would be reunited within weeks. But this did not happen in thousands of cases.
A public outcry and lawsuits forced the Trump administration to halt the separations, but for as many as 5,000 children, the damage had been done.
Trump's immigration officials kept poor records and did little to cooperate with groups seeking to help the children, forcing more lawsuits.
It was not clear how many children were still separated from their parents by the time the Biden administration took over, but estimates put it at as high as 1,000.
Many of them are from rural, inaccessible mountain communities, with reunification made even harder by the coronavirus pandemic and two hurricanes that ravaged Central America last fall.
The task force created by Biden has been "working tirelessly to establish a complete database of separated families, correct inaccuracies in the files they were provided, and build the processes to find every family and give them the opportunity to reunite and heal," the homeland security statement said.
It did not clarify if the children will be permitted to stay in the United States legally with their parents.
Joe Biden takes office as the 46th president of the United States with an optimistic call for unity, vowing to bridge deep divides and defeat domestic extremism two weeks after a violent mob tried to undo his election victory.
On a frigid but sunny day at the very Capitol building that was assaulted on January 6, Biden was sworn in moments after Kamala Harris became America's first woman vice president, closing the book on Donald Trump's tumultuous four years.
"Democracy is precious, democracy is fragile and at this hour, my friends, democracy has prevailed," Biden says before a National Mall that was virtually empty due to the ultra-tight security and a raging COVID-19 pandemic that he vowed to confront immediately. — AFP
US President Joe Biden on Thursday defends plans to extend the border wall with Mexico, saying he didn't think such barriers worked but that he was bound by laws introduced under Donald Trump.
Democrat Biden pledged during his White House race with Trump in 2020 that he would abandon the Republican's signature policy and would not build any more of the wall. — AFP
President Joe Biden admits he was concerned that US political turmoil could disrupt wartime aid for Ukraine, but says he would soon give a major speech to convince doubters on backing Kyiv.
"It does worry me," Biden says when asked whether the ousting of Republican House speaker Kevin McCarthy by hardliners in his own party could derail more funds for Ukraine's war effort.
"But I know there are a majority of members of the House and Senate of both parties who have said that they support funding Ukraine," he tells reporters at the White House. — AFP
Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has requested a bilateral meeting with his US counterpart to discuss the migration crisis that has "overwhelmed" his country, his foreign minister says.
The meeting would occur in Washington when Lopez Obrador attends a summit of Latin American leaders, to be convened by US President Joe Biden on November 3.
Lopez Obrador wants to discuss "legal paths" to address the humanitarian situation facing hundreds of thousands of people who have recently attempted to make their way to the United States and to study the ways in which they can request asylum, as well as work visas for the agricultural sector. — AFP
The US auto workers union expands a strike against two of Detroit's "Big Three", while President Joe Biden announces plans to join the picket line in solidarity with employees.
Some 5,600 members of the United Auto Workers union walked out of 38 US parts and distribution centers at General Motors and Stellantis at noon Friday, adding to last week's dramatic worker walkout.
The UAW has described its campaign as an effort to level the economic playing field for the working class, but Friday's events also underscored the lofty political stakes, with Biden's visit coming just a day before a planned trip by Republican rival Donald Trump. — AFP
US President Joe Biden leads international calls of solidarity with Iranians one year after Mahsa Amini's death sparked mass protests, with Western powers unveiling a series of new sanctions.
The anniversary of Amini's death in the custody of the clerical state's morality police comes as some activists criticize what they see as a return to business as usual with Tehran, which was already under a slew of sanctions.
Biden says in a statement that "today -- as we remember Mahsa's tragic death -- we reaffirm our commitment to the courageous people of Iran who are carrying on her mission." — AFP
- Latest
- Trending
