Biden administration to pay transportation, healthcare for families separated under Trump

March 2, 2021

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FILE PHOTO: U.S. President-elect Joe Biden introduces key members of his White House science team at his transition headquarters in Wilmington, Delaware, U.S., January 16, 2021 REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/File Photo

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States could pay for transportation, healthcare, legal services, and career and educational services for migrants separated under former President Donald Trump’s “zero tolerance” border strategy, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said on Monday.

The announcement is part of a list of principles released by the administration of U.S. President Joe Biden to guide its family reunification task force as the administration seeks to reunite more than 500 migrant children and parents separated by his predecessor’s border policy.

The Biden administration will also consider bringing deported parents back to the United States, an option outlined in Biden’s Feb. 2 executive order creating the family reunification task force.

“We are dedicating our resources throughout the Department of Homeland Security and the federal government, and bringing our full weight to bear, to reunite children who were cruelly separated from their parents,” DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said in a written statement.

(Reporting by Susan Heavey and Ted Hesson; Editing by Tim Ahmann)