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Federal officials said on Friday that they plan to return up to 200 children a day to their migrant parents to comply with a federal court ruling issued in a lawsuit challenging the crackdown on children. Immigration by the Trump administration to the US-Mexico border. Judge Dana M. Sabraw on Friday hailed the government's "substantial" efforts to reunite more than half of the 103 youngest children abducted to their parents before Tuesday's deadline and acknowledged that some children could not be reunited immediately with children. adults.
But he also ordered the government to put in place an orderly process for the large group after the first reports that a parent of young children was stuck in a bus station and that others were meeting. without notice, some late at night.
"So much of this is really just common sense and common courtesy," Sabraw said during a 90-minute hearing on Friday in the class action brought on behalf of migrant parents by the American Civil Liberties Union. "There should not be something mysterious about it, it should be transparent and easy to do."
Shortly after the hearing, the government laid out the outline of its reunification plan the court, indicating that he intended to identify six to eight sites to treat the largest group of 2,551 older children, a base continuing from Friday. the government separated more than 2,650 children and their parents from Trump's "zero tolerance" policy – which the administration completed last month – or before that policy took effect.
Officials also reported Friday night that not all families will be reunited, the same is true for the smaller group of about one hundred children under age 5 Some parents have not regained custody of their children because the parents had a ju have been expelled before meetings can be held or for other reasons.
When filed in court, officials warned the judge. safety risks for children, including the possibility that 175 children end up with adults who are not their biological parents.
Sabraw had previously ordered the government to give up DNA testing of all adults and skip the background checks and fingerprints. all residents of the homes where the children live, except in the case of danger to safety.
The lawyers protested that such tests caused delays and occurred only when officials doubted whether the adult concerned was the parent or security.
But Chris Meekins, Chief of Staff of the Office of the Undersecretary for Preparedness and Response, the unit at the start In a statement released Friday, the Ministry of Health and Social Services stated that "faster reunifications" could lead to children in "potentially abusive environments".
On Friday, the judge also ordered the government to provide ACLU with more information about separated parents and children and at least 12 hours before reunification so that lawyers could book hotel rooms or find other places for newly reunited families.
Lee Gelernt, the ACLU's attorney Officials from the Justice Department said that they have gathered more than half of the youngest children, and said that 45 of between them could not be returned for security reasons. reasons or because their parents had been deported or were under criminal detention.
On Friday, Sabraw also reported that he was inclined to make sure that the US government As the ACLU had requested, the parents' travel expenses were trying to reach their children, but the question was not resolved.
Justice Minister Sarah Fabian told the judge that the government should "
To reduce costs," she added, "the government has brought parents closer to detention centers. 39, immigration of their children. The judge said that he would decide the issue Monday, when another hearing is scheduled in the case.
Fabian said the next wave of meetings is likely to take place in fewer places because the children involved are older, and Texas lawyers are expecting a lot. occur in this state, where thousands of migrant families were initially apprehended.
Trump ended family separations before the order of the judge last month. They ignited international condemnation and concern for the physical and emotional well-being of separated families. A Honduran man was strangled after the officials took his son, and Republicans and Democrats criticized the policy.
Since reunifications began, most parents of younger children have been released with ankle monitoring devices.
The Trump administration has demanded that migrant families be detained together, perhaps in military facilities, until they succeed in their claims. asylum or be expelled.
This is a public support for the detention of families, even among Americans who oppose family separations. A Washington Post-Schar School poll released last week found that 7 out of 10 Americans opposed separating children from parents who crossed the border illegally, but 58% said they preferred that families are arrested until their immigration cases are resolved. Together, it establishes the possibility of future separations, as a federal consent decree states that the government can not detain children in such facilities for more than 20 days. Parents should choose between giving up the rights of their children and staying in detention with them or allowing their children to be released.
Colby Itkowitz and Scott Clement contributed to this report.
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