Readout of Secretary Mayorkas’s Meeting with Reunited Families Separated Under the Previous Administration’s “Zero-Tolerance” Policy

WASHINGTON – Today, Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro N. Mayorkas met virtually with parents who were reunified with their families under President Biden’s Interagency Task Force on the Reunification of Families, prior court orders, and with the support of non-governmental organizations.  Secretary Mayorkas and Family Reunification Task Force Director Michelle Brané heard directly from the families about their experiences of being cruelly separated under the previous Administration’s “zero-tolerance” policy.  They discussed their efforts to locate and reunify separated families.  They acknowledged the pain and trauma these families are experiencing.  They also relayed this Administration’s commitment to identifying a long-term status option for families and its efforts underway to ensure that family separations never occur again.