Get to know the judge who ordered reunification

The federal judge who ordered the reunification of children separated from their families along the Mexican border is the son of a Japanese immigrant.

The government acknowledged it failed to meet Tuesday’s deadline set by U.S. District Judge Dana Sabraw to reunite scores of children under age 5 with their families after they were seized along the Mexican border when their parents were arrested for illegally entering the U.S.

Dana Sabraw, based in San Diego, last month gave the government 14 days to reunite children under 5, some of whom had been separated from their families for weeks. He allowed 30 days for older kids.

So who is this guy?

His mother is an immigrant

Sabraw’s father met his mother while he was a soldier stationed in Japan during the Korean War. They were married in her native Japan before settling in San Rafael, California, where Sabraw was born in 1958. He was given a Japanese middle name – Makoto – in honor of his mother’s family. The name translates to “true” or “truth.”

Athlete, Bush appointee

Sabraw played baseball, wrestled and ran track in high school. During his senior year, he served as grand marshal of Sacramento’s annual Camellia Festival Parade. After graduating from San Diego State in 1980, he took a year off before law school and tooled around the country in a ’66 Rambler. Then it was on to the University of the Pacific’s McGeorge School of Law. He worked in private practice until becoming a municipal judge in 1995. President George W. Bush nominated him to the federal bench in 2003, and he won unanimous Senate confirmation.

Wife won an election

Sabraw’s wife, Summer Stephan, has been a prosecutor for almost three decades. She was appointed San Diego County’s interim district attorney a year ago, and in June was elected to the post. The couple met in law school and has three kids.

Put border patrol officer in prison

Border Patrol Agent Noe Lopez pleaded guilty in June 2017 to drug trafficking charges, admitting that he attempted to smuggle methamphetamine and cocaine while on duty along the Mexican border in San Diego. Sabraw sentenced Lopez to 70 months in prison for a “betrayal of trust” and called him a “cancer” that must be cut out of law enforcement.

How he got involved in this case

The ACLU filed suit in March against the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, and Sabraw was assigned the case. The suit sought to reunite an asylum-seeking mother identified as “Ms. L” and her 7-year-old daughter fleeing violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo. They were separated in the U.S. and detained separately 2,000 miles apart. The lawsuit cites violations of the Constitution’s due process clause, federal law protecting asylum seekers and the government’s own directive to keep families intact. “Ms. L” and her daughter were reunited months ago, but the national class-action lawsuit continues.

How is the case going?

At a status hearing Tuesday, Sabraw said he was encouraged by the progress being made by the Trump administration. But he demanded that the government adopt a “streamlined approach” for vetting families. “These are firm deadlines,” he said. “They’re not aspirational goals.”

Dana Sabraw