Friend –

As we prepare to turn a page on one of the most harmful and unconstitutional moments in our country's history, the urgent work to undo the damage of the last four years of Trump continues.

That is apparent in the latest developments from our case against his administration's family separation practice: The parents of 666 children have yet to be located, over 100 more than recently reported.

This development comes in Ms. L v. ICE, a national class-action lawsuit brought by the ACLU, which successfully sued to block the policy and reunite the families in 2018. Over the course of two years, we've managed to reunite over 2,000 families, but with the parents of 666 children still not found – some of whom were just babies when separated – we cannot stop looking.

Because at a time when perhaps many of us are thinking of our own families, we'll never forget what Trump did to so many others. Family separation was a key piece of his administration's deliberate and systematic attacks on family unity, asylum, and due process in our immigration system.

The work to undo this damage must be treated as an urgent priority when President-elect Biden takes office. We are glad to see the next administration plans to convene a task force to reckon with the Trump administration's family separation policy. But a task force is just the start – the next administration must take the following actions to begin making these families whole:

• Find and reunify separated families, including bringing back deported family members to the U.S. for reunification.
• Provide reunited families with stability and immediate protection from deportation, while working toward a path toward permanent legalization.
• Establish a redress fund that includes coverage of trauma-informed mental health services.
• Make systemic changes to ensure family separations end.
• Pursue investigations and accountability for those responsible.

In the coming days and months, our advocacy team will be driving these actions forward alongside our coalition partners and we'll be sure to keep you updated on how you can help.

One thing is sure no matter what: We will not stop looking for those families until they are all reunited, and we will continue to hold Trump accountable. Count on it.

Thank you for being in the fight with us,

Madhuri Grewal
Pronouns: She, her, hers
Federal Immigration Policy Counsel, ACLU