Former President Trump’s administration enacted a ‘zero-tolerance’ policy in April 2018 for families crossing the U.S. southern border without documentation to claim asylum, which resulted in parents being separated from their children. The U.S. border separation policy resulted in 5,500 children who were separated from parents at the border while the policy was in place, with no way to track and reunite families who were victims of the U.S, border separation policy later on.
Michelle Brane, head of the Family Reunification Task Force, told CBS’ 60 Minutes that the Biden government has only been able to reunite 52 of the over 1,000 families separated under the policy who have not yet found each other.
‘We estimate that over 1,000, somewhere between 1,000, 1,500, maybe more remain separated. It’s very hard to know because there’s no record.’
Reunited families are given a three-year grant of parole to live and work legally in the United States during that period, but are not offered a pathway to citizenship.
An immigration grant of parole is official permission to enter and remain temporarily in the United States, under the supervision of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), without formal admission. Immigrants who receive grant of parole do not have immigration status.
The Secretary of Homeland Security has delegated parole authority to three immigration agencies within DHS:
• U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)
• Customs and Border Protection (CBP)
• Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)
Families who are victims of the U.S. border separation policy receive a 3 year grant of parole visa due to the U.S. border separation policy can apply for immigration through the normal application process, but do not receive any special application benefit due to their parole status.
Godoy Law Office’s Oak Brook immigration attorneys offer assistance in family-based immigration matters to a range of people, including spouses, same-sex couples, fiancés, parents and children. We can also advise immigrants looking to secure status as permanent residents through the process of applying for a green card or citizenship.
Contact Godoy Law Office at 630-912-0322. Godoy Law Office serves the entire Chicago, Illinois area including DuPage, Cook, Kane, Will, and Lake Counties.
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