In a significant move towards addressing the controversial family separation policy of the Trump era, the Biden administration has reached a settlement in a major class-action lawsuit brought forward by migrants who were separated at the U.S.-Mexico border.
The lawsuit's settlement, if approved by a judge, will impose restrictions on when immigration officials can separate migrant minors from their parents or legal guardians. These restrictions are set to last for eight years. Moreover, the settlement will further the federal government's ongoing efforts to identify and reunite families who were separated under the Trump administration's "zero-tolerance" policy. This includes reuniting certain family members who were indirectly affected by the separation process.
In addition to the reunification efforts, the government will provide non-monetary assistance to address migrants' health care, housing, and legal needs. This includes an expedited asylum process and the opportunity for migrants to receive parole in the U.S.
The family separation policy, implemented in spring 2018, resulted in thousands of children being separated from their families at the border. This policy faced significant backlash, even from within the GOP. It remained in effect until June 2018 when Trump ended the program through an executive order. Later that month, a federal judge ordered the Trump administration to reunite children with their families within specific timeframes based on the child's age.
After President Biden took office in January 2021, he signed an executive order establishing a reunification task force. This task force was charged with the responsibility of reuniting families separated under the Trump administration's policy. Since its inception in January 2021, the task force has successfully reunited the families of over 770 children. Additionally, 85 more children are currently in the process of being reunited with their families. With the assistance of non-government organizations, more than 3,000 children who had been separated from their parents have been reunited.
Attorney General Merrick Garland commented on the settlement, stating, "The practice of separating families at the southwest border was shameful. This agreement will facilitate the reunification of separated families and provide them with critical services to aid in their recovery." Lee Gelernt, lead counsel for the ACLU, which initiated the lawsuit, added, "Although no settlement can ever erase this tragic episode, the settlement is a critical step forward to help the thousands of families that were so brutally separated by the Trump administration."
