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(CNN) ––
Joe de Biden's government could reunite separated migrant families on the border between the United States and Mexico during the term of former President Donald Trump, National Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said on Monday.
Mayorkas leads the family reunification task force established by President Joe Biden.
In that sense, he indicated that the government hopes to reunite separated families in the United States or in their country of origin.
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“We hope to be in a position to give you a choice.
And if they do indeed seek to meet here in the United States, we will explore legal avenues for them to remain in the United States and address family needs, "he explained at a White House press conference.
"The previous administration dismantled our nation's immigration system in its entirety," Mayorkas said.
"It takes time to rebuild an entire system and process people at the border in a safe and fair manner," he added.
The government works closely with attorneys for separated families, along with other partners, to chart the way forward.
“We are doing it together with the countries of El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras… We are doing it with non-governmental organizations.
And we intend and, shortly, we will take advantage of the capacities, resources and desires of the private sector ”, added Mayorkas.
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Attorneys are still trying to locate the parents of nearly 500 children who were separated from their families at the US-Mexico border, according to the attorneys.
A smaller number compared to a month ago, when lawyers were looking for the parents of 611 children.
"They need to wait"
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Mayorkas reiterated the government's message that migrants should not go to the United States at this time.
He also told reporters Monday that the department is working to rebuild its humanitarian and asylum programs.
They need to wait.
It takes time to rebuild the system from scratch.
If they come, if families come, if single adults arrive at the border, we are obliged, under the service of public health and the health of those who are thinking of coming, to impose travel restrictions under the authorities of Title 42 of the CDC [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] and return them to Mexico.
And we have done it, ”Mayorkas said.
"We need individuals to wait," he insisted.
Last year, when the pandemic hit the US, the Trump administration invoked a public health law that allowed officials at the border to turn away migrants detained there.
A measure that also included children.
Which resulted in a low number of unaccompanied minors admitted to the US.
The Biden government is no longer returning unaccompanied minors under the health law.
However, families and single adults are subject to the policy.
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Mayorkas said the goal is to rebuild a system "as quickly as possible."
This with the aim of allowing potential migrants to access humanitarian aid from their countries of origin.
We're not saying don't come.
We are saying don't come now because we can deliver a safe and orderly process to you as quickly as possible, ”Mayorkas said.
This was his response when asked how long it will take to rebuild the department and processes.
CNN's Jeff Zeleny asked Mayorkas about how specifically the government is conveying that message to families who want to travel to the US "We are flooding the space with that critical message," the secretary responded.
He also explained that the department works with non-governmental agencies and others to communicate with migrants.
As well as with the governments of the Northern Triangle countries of Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala.
"It is very difficult to know who we have successfully deterred," he admitted.
"But, we understand that it works to a certain extent," he completed.
He was then asked about plans to test migrants for COVID-19.
Mayorkas said difficult weather conditions in Texas created "unexpected stress on our system."
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As a matter of process, individuals and families are taken into custody by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Under the tutelage of this agency they undergo screening tests, Mayorkas said.
But it did not address testing in Border Patrol custody or testing for unaccompanied migrant children who are not in the custody of the Department of Health or ICE.
"It's a stressful challenge"
When asked if there is a border crisis, Mayorkas said no.
Instead, he called it a "challenge."
“We faced the challenge at the border.
The men and women of the Department of Homeland Security face that challenge.
It is a stressful challenge.
That's why, frankly, we work as hard as we do.
Not only to address the urgency of the challenge, but also in developing the capacity to manage it, ”he noted.
Mayorkas held the Trump administration responsible for dismantling the nation's immigration system.
In that sense, he repeatedly stressed that the system was "destroyed."
And he cited the plan to bring migrants from the "Remain in Mexico" program back to the United States as part of the strategy to rebuild the immigration system.
The department has expanded returns for people forced to wait in Mexico to three US ports of entry, he said.
One of which can handle 100 people a day, he said.
Alejandro Mayorkas Department of National Security United States Border Mexico Separation of families
