Lawyers say they believe the number of children separated from their migrant families may be higher than what they told a judge last month, according to NBC News.
Legal professionals have been working to reunite these families who were separated by the Donald Trump administration before and after its "zero tolerance" policy at the U.S./Mexico border. The policy was enforced between April and June 2018, where undocumented migrant parents and children were separated.
Previously, they said they couldn't find the parents of 545 children following unsuccessful contact. Now, that number may be up to 666. Steve Herzog, the attorney leading the reunion efforts, wrote in an email that the amount of separated children is 666, claims the number is higher due to a "new group." This group includes children "for whom the government did not provide any phone number."
NBC News said nearly 20 percent, or 129, of those migrant children were under 5 at the time of separation. Most of the separated children emerged during a pilot program of the policy in the El Paso Sector.
President-elect Joe Biden said he's committed to creating a government task force that would work to reunite all migrant families separated by Trump administration policies. So far, he has "not decided whether separated parents will be given the opportunity to come to the U.S. to reunite with their children and pursue claims to asylum," according to NBC News.
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