Judge says US must work harder to reunify children

The federal judge presiding over the reunification of immigrant children separated from their parents at the U.S. border ordered the government to figure out how to reunite the more than 500 children still in custody after calling the government’s efforts “unacceptable.”

The government must “identify an individual or a team” to create and implement a procedure for those kids to be reunified with their families -- most of whom have been deported -- U.S. District Judge Dana Sabraw told Justice Department attorneys in San Diego. At a hearing earlier Friday, Sabraw said it appeared the government had no plan for the remaining families and chided the government for its disappointing stance.

In a status report Thursday, the Trump administration argued it was the American Civil Liberties Union’s responsibility to locate the parents of hundreds of immigrant children who remain in the U.S. and still haven’t been reunited with their families despite a July 26 court-ordered deadline. A majority of those children’s parents have already been deported and aren’t in the country, according to the latest figures from the U.S. The judge disagreed.

“The reality is that for every parent who is not located, there will be a permanently orphaned child” and that is “100 per cent the responsibility” of the administration, Sabraw said at the hearing.