U.S. to reunite, release more than 50 immigrant kids

SAN DIEGO — More than 50 immigrant children under age 5 will be reunited with their parents by Tuesday’s court-ordered deadline for action by the Trump administration, and the families will then be released into the U.S., a government attorney said Monday.

That’s only about half of the 100 or so toddlers covered by the order.

At a court hearing, Justice Department lawyer Sarah Fabian acknowledged the government wouldn’t meet the deadline for all the children, citing a variety of reasons, including that the parents of some of the youngsters have already been deported.

Fabian said that 54 children will be joined with their parents by the end of Tuesday at locations across the country and that an additional five were undergoing final background checks.

It was the first time the government indicated whether the parents and children would be released or detained together. They will be set free in the U.S. pending the outcome of their immigration cases, which can take several years.

Fabian didn’t say why they were being released, but U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has little space to hold families.

ICE has three family detention centers with room for about 3,000 people in all, and the places are already at or near capacity. The Trump administration is trying to line up thousands more beds at military bases.

U.S. District Judge Dana Sabraw ordered both sides back in court on Tuesday to give another update.