No Script

Please Wait...

Ramadan Kareem...

Families Separated At US-Mexico Border Remain Apart

Families Separated At US-Mexico Border Remain Apart
folder_openAmericas... access_time5 years ago
starAdd to favorites

Local Editor

With one week left on a court-ordered deadline to reunite children and parents separated by US immigration officials, government lawyers reported on Thursday that 364 of some 2,500 families with children aged 5 and older have been brought back together.

It was unclear from the status report exactly how many more reunifications were likely.

Of more than 2,500 parents identified as potentially eligible for having their children returned, 848 were interviewed and cleared for reunification, attorneys for Immigration and Customs Enforcement [ICE] told the court.

Another 229 parents were deemed ineligible because of criminal records, or because they “waived” reunification or for other reasons. The rest are pending review.

The report also said more than 700 of the parents in question have final deportation orders, though a federal judge barred the expulsion of those parents until at least a week after they regain their children.

The parents and children were separated as part of US President Donald Trump’s “zero tolerance” crackdown on illegal immigration.

Many of the families entered the United States illegally, while some sought asylum at border crossings, after fleeing violence and upheavals in their home countries.

Children were sent to multiple care facilities across the United States, while their parents were incarcerated in immigration detention centers or federal prisons.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team

Comments