The Trump regime separated thousands of migrant kids from their parents or guardians during his time in office and about 1,000 of them remain separated according to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), but there could be more than we're currently aware of.
The Biden administration is doing what they can reunite the kids we know of, but government officials say up to 5,600 additional children may have been separated according to Trump-era records that have never been reviewed.
From Reuters:
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The Biden administration said on Wednesday it is examining 5,600 previously unreviewed cases of migrant children to see whether they were separated from parents at the U.S.-Mexico border under former President Donald Trump. [...]
The whereabouts and status of the 5,600 migrant children whose cases are being reviewed remains unclear. DHS did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Biden administration is scouring government records to search for additional separations and information that might help unify families, according to the official.
Officials have indicated that they don't expect all 5,600 records will identify another child separated from their family, but they do expect this review will add to total number of separations we're currently aware of. It remains to be seen how many.
The ACLU estimates that about 1,000 kids remain separated and it's possible that many of them will never see their families again. The Trump regime kept the children but deported their parents to countries that weren't safe to live in. That's why they fled to the United States to begin with.
Officials say the Trump-era records are also riddled with errors and inaccuracies that are making it even more difficult to review and process all of the records.
In recent weeks, Republicans have decried the "crisis" on the southern border, but their solution to the problem is to reinstate all the Trump-era policies that created this mess in the first place. And if Republicans ever regain control of the government, no one should doubt they'll do exactly that. We see a humanitarian tragedy but they see an opportunity to do worse.