Asylum seekers in Mexico. The US clamped down on immigration under Donald Trump
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Joe Biden on Tuesday set in motion a reversal of Donald Trump’s signature crackdown on illegal immigration and vowed to reunite hundreds of children separated from their families at the Mexico border.
In addition to launching a task force to bring together migrant families, Mr Biden ordered a review of the "Remain in Mexico" policy under which 65,000 people were forced to wait across the border while asylum claims were processed.
Mr Biden’s three new executive orders — on child separation, border security and legal immigration — were the latest moves to overhaul what the White House called Mr Trump’s "immoral and horrific" immigration policies.
It risked further angering Republicans who had hoped to reach a compromise on the electorally charged issue.
Mr Biden has now signed nine executive orders on immigration, more than on any other issue.
He has already ended funding for Mr Trump’s border wall, overturned his travel ban on several predominantly Muslim countries, and moved towards a pathway to citizenship for some of the 11 million people in the US illegally. The president on Tuesday night made further efforts to streamline that naturalisation process.
Read more: The hidden legacy of Trump’s family separations at the US border
Jen Psaki, the White House spokesman, said, in relation to child separation, that Mr Biden wanted to "overturn the immoral actions" enacted by Mr Trump.
Joe Biden signed the executive order at the White House on Tuesday
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She said: "We need to find out where these kids are and where their parents are. We are starting from square one.
"We are trying to repair the damage and horrific actions of the previous administration."
Alejandro Mayorkas, Mr Biden’s nominee for homeland security secretary, will lead the task force on family separation.
Around 5,500 children have been identified in court documents as being separated from their parents at the border during Mr Trump’s presidency.
For some 600 children, parents have yet to be found by a court-appointed committee. Those children are living with relatives or in foster care.
During the campaign Mr Biden pledged to end the "Remain in Mexico" asylum policy, which is officially known as the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP).
Many of the 65,000 asylum seekers it applied to returned to their home countries, but some remained in a makeshift camp near the border waiting for court hearings in the US.
Mr Biden’s administration has already stopped adding people to the programme, but it has not yet declared what will happen to the claims of those already in the system.
The White House said "MPP had created chaos, cruelty and confusion but it would take time to create a humane asylum system".
Republicans have warned that Mr Biden’s approach could lead to a migrant surge at the border.
Ms Psaki said: "It remains a dangerous trip. We need time to put in place an immigration process that is humane."
If Mr Biden fails to prevent surges in illegal immigration at the border it will give ammunition to Republicans in the congressional elections next year.
Sarah Pierce, a policy analyst with the Migration Policy Institute in Washington, said: "This is the thing that rallied Donald Trump supporters."
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