Nearly 2,200 migrant children still separated from their families at US-Mexico border

2,127 migrant children at the US-Mexico border may still be separated from their families, a Department of Homeland Security report released Tuesday states.

"The Department of Homeland Security is committed to the relentless pursuit of reunifying families who were cruelly separated by the previous Administration," said Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro N. Mayorkas, Chair of the Task Force. "When we reunified the first seven families last month, I said that this was just the beginning."

Between July 1,2017 and January 20, 2021, the Interagency Task Force on the Reunification of Families identified 3,913 children who were separated from their families at the border. 1,779 of those children have since been reunited with their families’ according tot he report. 7 additional children were reunited with their families in May.

According to the Task Force, there are no confirming records of reunification for 2,127 children.

"For too long, families have been separated under the inhumane policies set in place under the previous Administration," said Task Force Executive Director Michelle Brané. "In the coming weeks, twenty-nine families who were separated under the previous Administration will be reunified, in addition to the seven families previously reunited in May. We will provide support and services for these families to begin rebuilding their lives." The Task Force also announced that 29 additional families will be reunited "in the coming weeks."

50 requests for reunification have been filed with US Customs and Immigration Services, with 37 of those requests being approved for humanitarian parole. "Once they enter the United States, these individuals will be allowed to remain for an initial 36-month period with the opportunity to apply for work authorization," states the DHS.