There are as many as 1,016 children between the ages of 5 to 17, separated from their parents at the U.S.-Mexico border, who have still not been reunited, according to Aug. 2 federal court filings. Some entered illegally, others at ports of entry. Most were seeking asylum after fleeing extreme violence and poverty in central America, much of which has been fueled by certain U.S. policies and demand for illegal drugs.
The court filing says that 444 children age 5 and over have been discharged from the Office of Refugee Resettlement for reasons including going to sponsors because their parents were not eligible for reunification, being reunified with their parents earlier in the process or the children turned 18.
Another 572 children age 5 and over are still in ORR care because the adult is either not eligible for reunification or “not available,” 410 of whom are no longer in the U.S.
The Trump administration was ordered to reunite all the children involved in a lawsuit with the American Civil Liberties Union by July 26. In a court filing on Thursday, the government asked that the ACLU “use their considerable resources and their network of law firms, NGOs, volunteers, and others, together with the information that Defendants have provided (or will soon provide), to establish contact with possible class members in foreign countries.”
“The government appears to be taking the remarkable position that it is the job of private entities to find these parents, and it can largely sit back and wait for us to tell them when we find people,” said Lee Gelernt, deputy director of the ACLU’s immigrants’ Rights Project in a statement.
In the Southwest Key facility in Tucson, on July 13, there were 73 children still waiting to be reunited. Southwest Key representative Jeff Eller said in an email that any questions regarding reunification have to be answered by the ORR, the government agency in charge of the separated children’s care and minors who arrive unaccompanied at the border.
The Department of Health and Human Services, which runs ORR, said they couldn’t answer questions about what has happened to the children waiting to be reunified at Tucson’s Southwest Key facility since July 13, but only that they have over 11,000 minors in their care.
“While we understand the interest in detailed breakdowns of this information, our mission has been and remains to provide every minor transferred to HHS, regardless of the circumstances, with quality and age-appropriate care and a speedy and safe release to a sponsor,” read an emailed statement.
This article appears in Aug 2-8, 2018.
(CNN) — A federal judge called the Trump administration’s slowness to track down migrant parents it had separated from their children and then deported “unacceptable,” saying the responsibility is “100%” on the government.
The stern admonishment from District Judge Dana Sabraw came a day after the administration argued that immigrant advocacy groups — not the government — should be responsible for tracking down the more than 500 parents it had separated from their children at the border and deported without them.
“You cannot escape the responsibility of tomorrow by evading it today.”
— Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865)
How many American children live in poverty ? How many American children are separated from their parents when the adults commit a crime ? How many unborn children are exterminated in their mothers womb ? To answer the first question : One out of every 7 will live in poverty. Second : Obama deported : 2009 — 2011 the Obama administration deported two and a half million illegal immigrants including children from American soil . Where was the outcry and protests ? Third : from2016 – 2017 planned parenthood performed 328,348 abortions. Where is the outcry and protests from the left. Where is your sympathy , lefties ?
Trump should just tweet that he doenst give a flying “f”about the kids and that it’s all the libruls fault.
Oh wait! He already did!
These are adults who make a trip across multiple countries with the intent of illegally entering the U.S. Surely if they really needed asylum they would stop at the first country they came to.
This is nothing but illegal (economic) immigration using a new tactic, and with children used as pawns to gain entry.
Yes, there are many poor countries on Earth, but the solution to global poverty isn’t for everyone to move to the U.S. It’s not sustainable and we also have poor people we need to take care of.
And how does it become our job to reunite children with parents who have abandoned them after they proved not as useful for gaining entry as they had hoped. I feel sorry for the poor kids.
So the government’s position is that “they pointed out that we were violating the law, so they should be responsible for cleaning up the mess we made!”
Dave D – whenever your best argument is to try to change the subject, you have no argument at all.
Oddly enough the folks pictured with this story look strangely like the same group that promoted on demand abortions. At that time they said parents should not keep children they don’t need
They are so hard to figure out.
Jeffery, I’m not surprised by your inability not to comprehend where my argument lies First of all an argument is not the way to bring people together. However , having a conversation is a far more effective means of communication. An argument has no winners . Rarely is it effective in bringing two parties together. My post was not intended to disrupt the order of a peaceful conversation. I was just giving my side of the story. It’s in the First amendment right of the constitution or at least it used to be..The freedom of speech !