Executive Order 14011-Establishment of Interagency Task Force on the Reunification of Families

On February 2, 2021, President Biden signed Executive Order 14011, establishing an Interagency Task Force on the Reunification of Families separated at the U.S.-Mexico border under the previous administration's 'zero tolerance' immigration enforcement policy. That policy, implemented in 2018, had resulted in the separation of thousands of migrant children from their parents as adults were criminally prosecuted for illegal entry, with many children placed in government custody while their parents were detained, deported, or released. Many families had not been reunited even years after the separations occurred.

The task force was directed to identify all children separated from their families under that policy, facilitate and enable the reunification of families that remained separated, and report to the President on the steps taken and the barriers encountered. The order directed relevant departments — including Homeland Security, Health and Human Services, State, and Justice — to cooperate fully with the task force and to prioritize family reunification. It also directed a review of the policies that had led to the separations to prevent future recurrences.

This executive order reflected both a moral and legal reckoning with the family separation policy, which had been widely condemned as a human rights violation by international bodies, faith communities, child welfare experts, and members of both political parties. The administration framed family reunification as both an ethical obligation and a demonstration of the values that should guide U.S. immigration enforcement.

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