Measures taken to reunite migrant children with their parents at the border have taken an intentionally slow start, the Department of Homeland Security said Tuesday. Since February, when President Joe Biden set up a task force to reunify families, just seven children have been reunified, according to a new DHS report. In a phone call with reporters, a senior DHS official justified the slow start by saying they were trying to build up logistical capacity. “We chose intentionally to start slow so that we can go fast later,” the official said. “It’s one thing to do this on an individual basis... and quite another when you’re trying to build a system that will work for many, many more cases.”

Using information from advocates and ongoing litigation, the Biden task force identified over 3,900 separated children. Thankfully, 1,800 had been reunited with a parent, mostly before the task force began its work. The report estimated 2,000 children are still separated.