Administration seeks more time to reunite families
SAN DIEGO — The Trump administration asked a judge Friday for more time to reunite families who were separated at the border under its “zero-tolerance” policy to prosecute every person who enters the country illegally.
After a two-hour hearing, the judge put the administration’s request off until at least Monday, ordering the Justice Department to share with the American Civil Liberties Union a list of the 101 children under 5 years old who are separated from their parents. The group sued the administration to force the young children to be reunited by Tuesday.
U.S. District Judge Dana Sabraw scheduled another hearing for Monday in San Diego, with hopes that the two sides could agree on which of the children can be excused from the deadline.
The administration has matched 86 parents to 83 children and that 16 are not yet matched, Justice Department attorney Sarah Fabian said.
The deadline is July 10 for parents with children under 5 and July 26 to reunite everyone else.
The administration says federal law requires it to ensure that children are safe and that requires more time. Officials also say that they won’t be able to confirm a child’s parentage by the deadline if DNA testing is inconclusive. They will need more time to collect DNA samples or other evidence from parents who have been released from government custody.
Of the 101 children, about half are in the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The others have left the country or were released, Fabian said. She said it has been more difficult to reunite children when parents are outside government custody.
The judge, who was appointed by President George W. Bush, set the deadline last week, writing that the “situation has reached a crisis level” and that the “chaotic circumstances” were of the government’s own making.