HHS Secretary Alex Azar said he is not able to reunite migrant children separated from their parents at the U.S. border unless Congress changes detention rules, according to The Hill.
Democrats on the Senate Finance Committee questioned Mr. Azar about his ability to reunite 2,047 children in Health and Human Services custody, but he said he was unable to because of a law that families cannot be detained for more than 20 days. If parents are detained by the Department of Homeland Security for more than 20 days, HHS must take custody of their children, he said.
"I cannot reunite them, though, while the parents are in custody because of the court order that doesn't allow the kids to be with their parents for more than 20 days. We need Congress to fix that," Mr. Azar said, according to The Hill.
President Donald Trump' has come under fire for separating children from their parents as part of his zero-tolerance immigration policy, though he recently signed an executive order aimed at keeping families together during the detention process.