(Image source from: theGrio)

The United States authorities have deported nearly 471 parents without their children, revealed a court filing. The revelation came on Wednesday in the ongoing family separation lawsuit, CNN reported.

President Donald Trump’s administration has previously acknowledged that parents were removed from detention without their children, but the latest report provides an updated count, which has been requested by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) to serve as a measure to better track reunifications.

The ACLU filed the lawsuit against the administration earlier this year on behalf of a Congolese woman, who was seeking asylum in the United States and was separated from her seven-year-old daughter. The case was later expanded to a class-action lawsuit.

District Judge Dana Sabraw issued a preliminary injunction last June blocking most family separations at the U.S.-Mexico border and ordering that those already separated be reunited.

The court filing on Wednesday notes that, since the preliminary injunction was issued, the government has worked with the steering committee regarding the status of deported parents who have children remained in the federal care.

As of Monday, 2,741 children of 2,816 have been discharged from government care, up six since the February 20 status report. Four children are “proceeding towards reunification or other appropriate discharge”, according to the filing.

By Sowmya Sangam