Whereabouts of over 600 minors in the US is unknown

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Cuba

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Whereabouts of over 600 minors in the US is unknown

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Fecha de publicación:

28 January 2021

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US authorities do not know the whereabouts of more than 600 immigrant minors lost due to the policies of former President Donald Trump, according to local media.

The situation arose following President Joe Biden's announcement of a reform of immigration laws. Biden annulled a provision established by Trump that caused the separation of thousands of migrant families. The California-based newspaper La Opinión reported that the Department of Justice abolished the previous rule that established the 'zero tolerance' policy for immigrants who crossed the border between Mexico and the United States without authorization.

That measure led to the separation of thousands of migrant families, and officials have now been unable to find more than 600 minors separated from their parents.

The 'zero tolerance' policy dictated in a Trump memorandum stated that any adult discovered by authorities crossing the border without authorization would be prosecuted for 'illegal entry.'

As children cannot be incarcerated, they were separated from their families and were placed in the custody of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

The agency takes care of unaccompanied children on the border but now lawyers and organizations in charge of reuniting those families say they cannot find the parents of 666 of the minors.

La Opinion pointed out that although canceling this policy is partly symbolic, it undoes the previous regulations which caused the separation of more than 5,500 children from their families on the southern US border.