(Image source from: KFGO.com)
The Trump administration on Thursday has proclaimed that over 1,800 families separated at the United States-Mexico border under Trump's "zero tolerance policy" have been reunited yet hundreds remain apart, signaling a possibly onerous task ahead.
According to a justice department, about 1,442 children of age 5 and older reunited with their parents in the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Custody (ICE) and remaining 378 who were released in other appropriate circumstances.
Among who have been deported, still, over 700 parents deemed ineligible or presently ineligible. Of those, about 431 children have parents outside the U.S.
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Lee Gelernt, an attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union who represents the separated families, said before the latest figures were announced that the government should not be congratulating itself for meeting its "self-defined" deadline.
"The government shouldn't be proud of the work they're doing on reunification," he said. "It should just be, 'We created this cruel, inhumane policy ... now we're trying to fix it in every way we can and make these families whole."
The Department of Homeland Security's internal watchdog said it would review the separation of families, along with the conditions at Border Protection facilities where migrant children are held, in response to scores of congressional requests to do so.
Children have been arriving steadily at ICE locations, for the last two weeks in Texas, Arizona and New Mexico to be reunited with parents. Some groups have supplied meals, clothing, legal advice and plane and bus tickets.
The families and parents who are released by and large are typically given court dates to appear before an immigration judge and ankle-monitoring.
The family lawyers on Friday would commence turning their attention to those who were not reunified - parents who had a criminal record, parents who were no longer in the U.S. and children who were handed over to other sponsors, Gelernt said.
By Sowmya Sangam
