(CNN) -
The Justice Department formally overturned the Trump administration's controversial "zero tolerance" policy that called for the criminal prosecution of adults crossing the border and led to the separation of thousands of families, according to a memo obtained by CNN. .
The policy was canceled by former President Donald Trump in June 2018 after mounting criticism, but on Tuesday the department took steps to nullify it entirely.
"In keeping with this long-standing principle of making individualized evaluations in criminal cases, I am repealing - effective immediately - the directive," Acting Attorney General Monty Wilkinson said in a memorandum to federal prosecutors.
MIRA: The tragedy of family separation that echoes in the US presidential election
"While policies may change, our mission always remains the same: to seek justice under the law," added Wilkinson.
The Associated Press first reported on the memo.
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Attorneys are still unable to contact the parents of 611 children who were separated from their families by US border officials between 2017 and 2018, according to the latest court filing.
"This action is a good start, but what is really needed is for Congress to repeal the penalties for unauthorized entry that results in family separation," said attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union Lee Gelernt, the lead attorney at the lawsuit for family separation.
And the end of the zero tolerance policy does not impact already separated families.
The Biden administration must reunite separated families in America and provide them with citizenship, resources, care and a commitment that family separation will never happen again.
President Joe Biden has vowed to undo Trump's policies and is expected on Friday to announce a task force that will focus on reuniting separated families.
In a statement to CNN, a Justice Department spokeswoman called the "zero tolerance" policy "inconsistent with the Department's longstanding principle that we exercise judgment and do individualized evaluations in criminal cases."
