Biden administration announces they have reunited 100 children separated from parents in Trump-era

The Department of Homeland Security announced Thursday that 100 children have been reunited with their families as a result of the Biden administration’s effort to reverse the separation that occurred during Trump’s presidency.

Nearly 350 more reunions are in the works, with most of the children being from Central America. According to ABC News, President Joe Biden issued an executive order to reunite families on his first day in office.

Michelle Brané, executive director of the Family Reunification Task Force, said, “I would have loved to have this happen much more quickly. But we are making progress and I feel like we’re gaining momentum.”

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas tweeted about the milestone. “We have a lot more work to do. We are dedicated to finding every family and giving them the chance to reunite and to heal,” he wrote. The task force has faced many obstacles, including missing records on families and the number of cases to deal with.

Roughly 5,500 children were separated from their parents. Reunited parents and children are being granted humanitarian parole to stay in the U.S. for a minimum of three years, and will be able to pursue permanent residency.

Many families filed lawsuits against the federal government as a result of the separations. Some litigations are still in the works of settlement negotiations.