You fix it, ACLU!
Don suggests non-governmental group reunite families
The Trump administration is arguing in court that the American Civil Liberties Union is in a better position to locate deported parents forcibly separated from their children at the southern border after entering the U.S.
The Department of Justice claimed in a court filing Thursday that the ACLU, which filed a class-action lawsuit against the administration on behalf of the families, should take the lead in reunifying deported parents with their kids.
“Plaintiffs' counsel should use their considerable resources and their network of law firms, NGOs, volunteers, and others, together with the information that defendants have provided (or will soon provide), to establish contact
p in foreign countries,” the department said in its filing.
The attempt to pass off the problem of locating deported parents is the latest twist in a months-long battle over President Trump's “zero tolerance” policy regarding illegal border crossings.
The policy led to thousands of children being ripped away from their parents, which prompted condemnation from critics and eventually led the President to sign an executive order putting a stop to the practice.
Trump had previously argued he had no power to put an end to the separations.
The ACLU then sued the government in an attempt to speed up the reunification process.
As of Wednesday, 410 children whose parents were deported were still in the custody of the U.S. Health and Human Services Department.
The ACLU disputes the government's claim that they should take responsibility, arguing that it is up to the administration to do all it can to reunite the families.
"Not only was it the government's unconstitutional separation practice that led to this crisis, but the United States Government has far more resources than any group of NGOs (no matter how many NGOs and law firms are willing to help),' "the group shot back in its own filing.
U.S. District Judge Dana Sabraw, who has ordered the government return more than 2,500 children to their parents, is scheduled to speak with both sides in a conference call Friday.