US Separated Thousands Of Children From Parents At Border - Inspector General

The United States has separated thousands more migrant children from their families at the border than previously believed, the Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General said in a new report on Thursday

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 17th January, 2019) The United States has separated thousands more migrant children from their families at the border than previously believed, the Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General said in a new report on Thursday.

"In the summer of 2017, prior to the formal announcement of the zero-tolerance policy, ORR (Office of Refugee Resettlement) staff observed a steep increase in the number of separated children referred to ORR care. Officials estimated that ORR received and released thousands of separated children prior to the June 26, 2018, court order that required ORR to identify and reunify certain separated children," the report said.

At the time of that June court order, ORR identified at least 2,737 separated children in its care and the US agency received another 118 children from the Department of Homeland Security between July 1 and November 7, 2018, the report said. But due to poor record keeping, the total number of separated migrant children detained United States since an uptick in detentions began in 2017 remains unknown, it added.