The Trump administration said nearly half of the 102 youngest immigrant children who were separated from their parents at the border won’t be reunited with the adults in time to meet a court-imposed deadline.
Yet during a Monday hearing in San Diego, U.S. District Judge Dana Sabraw, who had ordered the reunions, said the government is making “real progress” toward reconnecting children younger than 5 with their parents.
Two of the 102 children have so far been returned to their parents, the judge said. Fifty-four will likely be reunited by Tuesday, the deadline Judge Sabraw initially imposed, and five others are also soon to be reconnected with their families in the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Immigration officials were still conducting background checks and confirming familial relationships for the others, Justice Department attorney Sarah Fabian said. In some cases, officials are struggling to confirm relationships, parents have already been deported or released from federal custody or face criminal charges that prevent them from being reunited with their children, Fabian said.
An expanded version of this report appears on WSJ.com.
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