Officials work to meet reunification deadline

SAN DIEGO — The Trump administration said Monday that nearly 1,200 family reunifications have occurred for children 5 and older who were separated at the U.S.-Mexico border, still leaving hundreds to go before this week’s courtimposed deadline.

There have been 1,187 reunifications “or other appropriate discharges” by the Health and Human Services Department’s Office of Refugee Resettlement, which took custody of the children, the Justice Department said in a court filing. It was not immediately clear what “other appropriate discharges” referred to.

The administration has identified 2,551 children 5 and older who have been separated from their families.

U.S. District Judge Dana Sabraw has set a deadline of Thursday for the government to reunite all older children with their parents.

More than 1,600 adults were believed eligible for reunification, including 217 who have been released by immigration authorities into the United States, according to the filing. More than 500 were vetted and awaiting transportation.

More than 900 were “not eligible, or not yet known to be eligible,” many of them undergoing vetting.

The administration was still working to develop a list of how many adults have been deported, but The Washington Post reported that the administration said in a court filing Monday that 463 parents of migrant children are no longer present in the U.S. States, indicating that the number of mothers and fathers potentially deported without their kids could be far larger than previously acknowledged.The progress report to Sabraw cautioned the 463 cases are “under review,” meaning the filing was not a definitive tally of all migrant parents who have been deported while their children remain in government shelters.

Sabraw has ordered frequent updates as the deadline nears. The administration and the American Civil Liberties Union, which represents the families, are due in court Tuesday for the seventh time this month to discuss the status.

Last week, the judge temporarily halted deportations of families to give the government time to respond to the ACLU’s request that parents have a week to decide if they want to seek asylum after they rejoin their children.