U.S. says it needs more time to reunite families separated at border

SAN DIEGO — The federal government, under orders from a San Diego federal judge to reunite families who have been separated at the border, is asking for more time.

In a motion filed late Thursday night, the Department of Justice says it has dedicated “immense” resources to reunifying families since the June 26 order.

But the process that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has put into place to match up family members will take some time if it is to comply with existing law meant to protect children from human trafficking, the DOJ argues.

The order, filed last week, gives the government until July 10 to reunite children younger than 5 with their parents and until July 26 for older children.

The motion will be discussed with U.S. District Judge Dana Sabraw and attorneys for the American Civil Liberties Union during a telephonic status conference Friday afternoon.

The government said it believes it is in compliance with other aspects of Sabraw's preliminary injunction, including no longer separating families in immigration detention and making sure parents who are separated are able to communicate with their children. Friday marks the deadline for the communication part of the order.

But the reunifications have been time-consuming, the government says.

The process includes taking DNA swabs from parents and children to verify their familial relationship, as well as checking parents for any criminal history that might make them unfit to care for their children.

The DNA verification has been expedited to comply with the court's timeline, although the government worries that some cases could prove to be more complex and might not be verified by the imposed deadline.