Federal judge temporarily halts deportation of reunified families

The Associated Press

SAN DIEGO — A federal judge on Monday ordered a temporary halt to deportations of immigrant families reunited after being separated at the border, as the Trump administration races to meet a July 26 deadline for putting thousands of children back in their parents’ arms.

U.S. District Judge Dana Sabraw imposed a delay of at least a week after a request from the American Civil Liberties Union, which cited “persistent and increasing rumors ... that mass deportations may be carried out imminently and immediately upon reunification.”

Justice Department attorney Scott Stewart opposed the delay but did not address the rumors in court.

Judge Sabraw said in court that the temporary stay on deportations must not delay family reunifications, and, where necessary, the government needs to make sure it can house parents together with their children.

The ACLU requested that parents have at least one week to decide whether to pursue asylum in the U.S. after they are reunited with their children. The judge held off on deciding that issue until the government outlines its objections in writing by next Monday.

ACLU attorney Lee Gelernt told reporters that he was “extremely pleased” by the halt and that parents need time to think over with their children and advisers whether to seek asylum.

Normally, families would have days or weeks to consider such the decision of whether to leave the United States or continue to fight their immigration cases, but the separation of families and the rush to reunite them in response to an earlier court order has rendered such discussions difficult for most.

“It’s hard to imagine a more profound or momentous decision,” Mr. Gelernt said.

The hearing in San Diego occurred as the government accelerated reunifications at eight unidentified U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement locations. The families are scattered around the country, the adults at immigration detention centers, the children at shelters overseen by the government.

Annunciation House, a shelter in El Paso, said the government has begun transporting children in a “tremendous amount of airline flights” to El Paso and elsewhere. Director Ruben Garcia said he is preparing to take in as many as 100 reunified families a day.

Late last month, Judge Sabraw ordered the government to reunite the thousands of children and parents who were forcibly separated at the border by the Trump administration this spring. He set a deadline of July 10 for children under 5 and gave the government until July 26 to reunite more than 2,500 youngsters ages 5 to 17.

On Monday, the judge commended the government for a plan submitted over the weekend to reunify the older children. The plan calls for DNA testing and other screening measures only if red flags are raised during background checks.

Jonathan White of the Office of Refugee Resettlement, who is overseeing the government’s effort, assured the judge that some reunifications of older children already occurred, and “it is our intent to reunify children promptly.” He went into detail on how the process was working.

Mr. White said that of the 2,551 migrant children between the ages of 5 and 17 who were separated from their families and are in government custody, 1,317 have been cleared for reunification with their parents by the Department of Health and Human Services, though as of Monday, only about 300 had approval for release from a second federal agency, ICE.

Mr. White also testified that the parents of 71 children still have not been identified.

The judge praised Mr. White’s testimony, saying, “What is in place is a great start to making a large number of reunifications happen very, very quickly.”

Justice Department attorneys also assured Judge Sabraw the children were well cared for, offering him a visit to a shelter if he wanted. The judge replied that the main concern wasn’t whether the children were well cared for.

“Obviously the concern that has been at issue has been the passage of time,” he said. “No matter how nice the environment is, it’s the act of separation from a parent, particularly with young children, that matters.”

Judge Sabraw has scheduled three more hearings over the next two weeks to ensure compliance with his order.