(WASHINGTON) The lawyers representing families separated at the U.S. border said they were "hopeful" that 1,000 more families will be reunited after the Biden administration reconnected four families this week, according to NBC News.
Those families represented in a federal lawsuit by the ACLU, known as the Ms. L case, that began under former President Donald Trump's administration and will be settled under the current White House.
Lee Gelernt, a lead attorney for the ACLU, said he wished Biden acted more quickly to reunify, he said he believed he is “acting in good faith.”
"The ACLU is in settlement negotiations with the Biden administration to provide full relief to the thousands of separated families, not just reunification in the U.S. but permanent status, compensation and social services,” Gelernt told NBC News.
Gelernt said the lawyers were hoping to get it done and would continue to pressure the administration to move quickly.
“The Task Force is actively working to develop a system for processing and reunifying over a thousand families and to set up a system to provide mental health support and stability to thousands [of] more families who are here in the United States and still trying to heal from the trauma caused by their separation,” a Homeland Security spokesperson said in a statement. “This is only the beginning, and the government cannot do this work alone. We are committed to working with the private sector and with the NGOs, attorneys, and advocates who have done tremendous work in support of these families.”
Family advocates are seeking to have these families reunited within the U.S., provided with health and social services. They also want permanent legal status to remain.
A Southern California federal judge appointed Gelernt and the other attorneys to oversee the Ms. L case in an attempted to reunify the thousands of separated families under the Trump administration's "zero-tolerance."
“The key will be that the Biden administration stays the course because there is a lot to do,” said Gelernt. “It is one thing to get a few families back, but a whole other thing to scale up the process so it works smoothly for more than 1,000 families who remain separated, not to mention getting benefits for the thousands of others who need them.”