The Biden administration has reunited nearly 700 children separated from their families at the U.S.-Mexico border because of former President Donald Trump's controversial family separation policy, officials said Thursday.

According to the Associated Press, President Joe Biden issued an executive order to reunite families forcibly separated at the southwestern border during the Trump administration on his first day in office.

The Biden administration has formed a task force to reunite migrant children with their families. Thursday marked the second anniversary of the task force.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) reported that thousands of children were separated from their families due to the Trump administration's policy designed to discourage illegal immigration by criminally prosecuting people for illegally crossing the border.

Since the children cannot be held in criminal custody with their parents, they were transferred to the Department of Health and Human Services before they were sent to live with a sponsor.

Usually, these sponsors are a relative or somebody connected to the family. Human rights groups said the Trump administration" s policy is inhumane and cruel. It has led to many families suing the federal government.

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Hundreds of Migrant Families Still Separated Due to Donald Trump's Family Separation Policy

Data released by the DHS showed that from 2017 to 2021, 3,881 children were separated from their families at the U.S.-Mexico border, and around 74% of those have already been reunited.

The report further noted that 2,176 children had been reunited with their families before the task force was created and 689 afterward. However, that still leaves nearly 1,000 kids not reunited with their families.

Al Jazeera reported that the DHS remained optimistic about reuniting these migrant children with their parents, as the task force uses government records and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to locate their families.

In a statement, the DHS said the number of new families identified continued to increase "as families come forward and identify themselves."

There are still 998 children who are still not reunited with their parents. However, the DHS noted that 148 are "in the process of reunification," while another 183 families "have been informed of the opportunity to reunify" via an NGO.

Why Many Migrant Children Separated From Their Families Due to Donald Trump's Policy

The administration of Donald Trump implemented the controversial policy as early as March 2017, only a few months into office. It directed the Border Patrol's El Paso sector to suspend its "family unit policy."

By March 3, 2017, the former president started to consider family separation. A few days later, or on March 6 of the same year, then-DHS Secretary John Kelly told CNN that they were considering separating parents from their children if caught by Border Patrol agents.

This separation was used to deter immigrant families from crossing the border together. The policy was eventually implemented formally, separating thousands of families.

However, according to American Oversight, the Trump administration did not have an adequate plan to reunite these families. Thus, leading to the crisis that migrant families are still facing today.

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This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Rick Martin

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