DHS: Trump’s ‘zero tolerance policy’ separated 3,913 children from parents

WASHINGTON – More than 3,900 children were separated from their parents under President Donald Trump’s “zero tolerance policy,” according to a report from a task force designed to reunify migrant families.

The Reunification of Families Task Force found that 3,913 children were separated from their parents from July 2017 to January 2021.

The task force determined a total of 5,636 children were separated from July 1, 2017, and Jan. 20, 2021, 3,913 of which were separated under zero-tolerance-related policies. There are 1,723 children whose separations remain under review.

Seven children were reunited over the past 30 days.

“When we reunified the first seven families last month, I said that this was just the beginning,” Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said in a statement. “In the coming weeks, we will reunify 29 more families.”

President Joe Biden announced the creation of the task force in February and tapped Mayorkas to lead it. Its report was submitted June 2 to Biden, who had asked for an initial progress report no later than 120 days after the task force was established.

Under Trump’s zero tolerance policy, thousands of families arriving at the U.S.-Mexican border were separated in an effort to discourage migration. The Trump administration received harsh criticism for the policy and rescinded it in June 2018, though there were still cases of separation.

Twenty-nine families are likely to be granted humanitarian parole in the USA this month and will be reunified in the coming weeks. Under the parole, families will be provided with services to overcome the experiences of being separated and to help rebuild their lives.They are allowed to remain in the USA 36 months. Though families can apply to renew the parole, there is no long-term pathway to citizenship for them.