It was a promise from Joe Biden: to allow hundreds of minor migrants to be reunited with their families. In recent years, thousands of children have been separated from their parents in the name of a “zero tolerance” migration policy. The first reunion took place this week.
This was the case with Chavez, an 18-year-old Mexican. He was seeing his mother for the first time in 3 years. Since they were separated at the border. Both wanted to flee the world, their violent world surrounded by gangs in their neighborhood. While trying to enter the United States, they were arrested. A minor, Chavez was to be received by the border police. He saw a doctor and was placed in a refugee center for children.
But at the time, in 2018, her mother as an adult was automatically sent back to her country. One way for the Trump administration to discourage would-be immigrants. You may remember those shocking images of children, alone, locked up, sometimes in cages.
Symbolic reunion
Yesterday, a few cameras were tracking Chavez in San Isidro, California. So it was there that he saw his mother for the first time in more than two years. They hugged each other for a long time. The cameras remained at a distance. And then in front of the journalists, in a very mastered English, the teenager told all his emotion, his joy, and thanked everyone.
The associations believe that there is at least a thousand isolated children, in reception structures or with foster families, without any news from their parents. In February Joe Biden set up a specialized unit that works to reunite families. Because it’s complicated to find the parents, whether they are in Mexico but also in Guatemala or Honduras.
Chavez’s family is the first of four families due to be reunited this week. If Chavez was chosen to speak to the media, it is also because he is in the end an example of integration. Indeed, he works with an organization that helps refugee children like him. He is now a US resident. Her mother, Sandra, is going to apply for asylum.
A new challenge for the White House
Officially, this policy of separating minors and their parents is over. It was even over under Trump. The former president had backed down in the face of international outcry.
More the situation remains complicated. In recent months, we have seen thousands of minors cross the border alone, with a phone number in their pocket, that of a loved one or family member already in the United States. They are “pushed” in a way by their family for whom, it is the best solution to ensure their future.
In a few weeks, more than 22,000 minors crossed the border alone. A number which can be explained by the end of winter and especially by the hope aroused by the election of Joe Biden. But not all unaccompanied minors are welcomed in the United States. Especially Mexican children. There are agreements between the two countries. After a medical examination and an interview with the consular services, children can be returned to their country of origin.
Joe Biden instructed his vice-president to manage this sensitive immigration file. Kamala Harris will travel to Mexico and Guatemala in early June. This will be her first trip abroad since taking office
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