The Biden administration announced very good immigration news: 100 families separated by Trump have already been unified and another 350 are in the process
From Todo Inmigración we are extremely happy to announce very good news about migration! This is the recent reunion of 100 families that had been separated in 2018 by the Trump administration under the Zero Tolerance policy. Finally, after a long wait, the families were able to hug each other again and will have the great joy of spending the end of the year together.
The reunification was made possible by the joint work of the Biden Administration and numerous community associations and non-profit organizations. Different international organizations were also involved, such as the International Organization for Migration (IOM) under the United Nations.
Alejandro Mayorkas, Secretary of National Security and the main person in charge of the family reunification program, said on his Twitter account that this is just beginning and there is still much to do.
“We have a lot more work to do. We are dedicated to finding all families and giving them the opportunity to reunite and heal. This is our mission. This is our commitment.
Mayorkas stated that in addition to the 100 separated migrant families that have already been reunited, there are still many more to be located. Fortunately, 345 of them have already been registered and their unification processes are underway. The Secretary thanked the community organizations for their task of locating and registering and stressed that without them, this task would not have been possible.
How should separated migrant families apply for the reunification program?
In order to apply to the United States government’s family reunification program, the first step is for family members to register with Juntos.gov, the government website for this purpose. The requirements and the procedure to follow to be correctly registered are detailed there.
What about migrant families separated after reunification?
After the families were happily reunited, the United States government grants a series of humanitarian permits so that its members can legally live and work in the country for at least 3 years.
Counseling and accompaniment services are also provided to ensure a successful and altercation-free reunification, as well as free travel and support services. These activities began months ago when numerous groups of social workers went door to door trying to find and accompany the affected people so that they can overcome the trauma and move forward.
Zero Tolerance: Trump’s policy that separated thousands of parents from their children at the border
The Zero Tolerance policy was an immigration measure taken in 2018 by the administration of former President Donald Trump. With the aim of “controlling illegal immigration,” the measure encouraged the arrest and criminal prosecution of anyone caught crossing the border at a location other than a port of entry.
As a result of the arrest and prosecution of the adults, thousands of children at the border were separated from their parents. In many cases, all communication between them was lost and to this day they continue to know nothing about each other.
Following strong international condemnation, the Trump administration canceled this policy months later. However, until the change of administration, no steps had been taken to reunify separated migrant families. In addition, Trump maintained other dissuasive measures such as the Remain in Mexico program, also strongly criticized.
From Todo Inmigración we are very happy for the reunification of the 100 separated migrant families and we strengthen our hopes that soon all the families can be together again!
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