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Original Date Announced
June 20, 2018Executive Order 13841 sets new guidelines for family apprehensions at the border. Families are to be detained together, except where there is a concern that detention of a noncitizen child with the child's parent would pose a risk to the child's welfare. Department of Defense will assist with facilities. Attorney General will seek to modify the Flores Settlement to allow for noncitizen families to be detained together throughout the pendency of criminal proceedings for improper entry or removal.
[ID #332]
EO 13841: Affording Congress an Opportunity to Address Family SeparationEffective Date
June 20, 2018Biden Administration Action: Revoked/Replaced
February 2, 2021Establishment of Interagency Task Force on the Reunification of Families
This Biden administration action revokes in its entirety the Trump-era policy identified in this entry.
On February 2, 2021, President Biden issued Executive Order 14011 revoking Executive Order 13841 and establishing an interagency task force on the reunification of families. The Executive Order states: "My Administration will protect family unity and ensure that children entering the United States are not separated from their families, except in the most extreme circumstances where a separation is clearly necessary for the safety and well-being of the child or is required by law." The Task Force is charged with "[i]dentifying all children who were separated from their families at the United States-Mexico border between January 20, 2017, and January 20, 2021, in connection with the operation of the Zero-Tolerance Policy; [and] to the greatest extent possible, facilitating and enabling the reunification of each of the identified children with their families."
View DocumentBiden Administration Action
June 2, 20212021.06.02 Family Reunification Task Force 120 Day Progress Report
On June 2, 2021, DHS issued a report on the Family Reunification Task Force's first 120 days. DHS reports that "the Task Force (1) identified nearly all of the children who were separated from their parents as a result of the Zero-Tolerance Policy and related initiatives; (2) established a reunification process for these families; and (3) began reunifying parents and legal guardians with their separated children in the United States."
For interim Task Force reports, please see: https://www.dhs.gov/publication/family-reunification-task-force-progress-reports
View DocumentBiden Administration Action: Under Study
December 10, 20212021.12.10 Identifying Reccomendations to Support the Work of the Interagency Task Force on the Reunification of Families
On December 10, 2021, DHS published a request for comment in the Federal Register seeking "recommendations for ways to minimize the separation of migrant parents and legal guardians and children entering the United States, consistent with the law."
View DocumentBiden Administration Action: Under Study
December 27, 20222021.12.27 Identifying Recommendations To Support the Work of the Interagency Task Force on the Reunification of Families; Extension of Comment Period
On December 27, 2021, DHS extended the deadline for its request for comments "in response to its December 10, 2021 request for comments regarding ways to minimize the separation of migrant parents and legal guardians and children entering the United States, consistent with the law." Comments will be accepted until January 25, 2022.
View DocumentCurrent Status
Not in effectMost Recent Action
December 27, 2022 Action: Under Study 2021.12.27 Identifying Recommendations To Support the Work of the Interagency Task Force on the Reunification of Families; Extension of Comment PeriodFebruary 2, 2021Acted on by Biden Administration
June 2, 2021Acted on by Biden Administration
December 10, 2021Acted on by Biden Administration
December 27, 2022Acted on by Biden Administration
Original Trump Policy Status
Status: Final/ActualTrump Administration Action: Presidential OrdersAssociated or Derivative Policies
- June 21, 2018 DOJ requests relief from Flores settlement in order to detain children in family facilities
- June 21, 2018 CBP announces end to family separations based on border prosecutions
- June 23, 2018 ICE designates special facility and policies for reunification and removal of separated families
- July 10, 2018 DHS issues a four-step process for family reunification to comply with court order
- August 23, 2019 Final Rule terminating Flores Agreement on detention of migrant children
Pre Trump-Era Policies
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June 15, 2018
Under Attorney General Sessions' "zero tolerance" policy of detaining and prosecuting all undocumented individuals, the AG directed United States Attorneys on the Southwest Border to prosecute all amenable adults who enter the country without authorization, including those accompanied by their children, for illegal entry. Children whose parents were referred for prosecution were placed with the Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS) Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR).
DHS Fact Sheet: Zero Tolerance Immigration Prosecutions - Families
Documents
Trump-Era Policy Documents
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New Policy
Original Source:
Affording Congress an Opportunity to Address Family Separation
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Prior Policy
Original Source:
Fact Sheet: Zero Tolerance Immigration Prosecutions - Families