REUNITE KIDS OR FACE PENALTIES, JUDGE TELLS FEDERAL GOVERNMENT
CALIFORNIA— The US government must reunite 63 children under the age of 5 who were separated by immigration officials or face penalties, a federal judge said.
US Judge Dana Sabraw in San Diego told government attorneys he was sticking with deadlines he set last month, when he ordered children under five to be reunited by Tuesday and another 2,000 to be back with their parents by July 26.
Firm deadlines
"These are firm deadlines. They are not aspirational goals," the judge said.
The children were taken from their parents under President Donald Trump’s “zero tolerance” immigration policy, which called for the prosecution and detention of adult immigrants illegally crossing the border.
Sabraw also asked the Ameri- can Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), which brought the lawsuit that led to Sabraw’s June order, to suggest remedies if the government cant reunify the 63 children by Tuesday.
"The court has a range of options from significant fines to other types of relief," said ACLU attorney Lee Gelernt.
After public outcry and a court challenge, Trump stopped separating families last month.
Not enough time
The government had asked Sabraw to extend the deadlines because it needed time to test DNA and confirm parentage, locate parents who were released and review parental fitness.
But the ACLU has said the government is asking for needless provisions for reuniting families that would not happen if the families had not been separated in the first place.—