2 000 kids still to reunite

The US government said it still had 2 053 children in its custody who were separated from their parents under President Donald Trump’s zero-tolerance immigration policy, and set out its most detailed plans yet on how it would reunite families.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said it had a well coordinated process in place, in the face of criticism from lawyers who say they have seen little evidence of an organised system.

A total of 522 children had already been reunited with parents, the agency said three days after Trump ended his policy of separating families on the US-Mexico border, after images of kids in cages sparked outrage at home and abroad.

“The US government knows the location of all children in its custody and is working to reunite them with their families,” the DHS said.

There have been months of confusion on how detained migrant parents, shuttled from one facility to the next run by different government agencies, would reunite with children sent to shelters and foster homes across the country.

Parents would be reunited with the children “for removal purposes”, but these deportation proceedings often take months to complete. 

-Reuters