By Michael Hernandez
WASHINGTON (AA) – The Trump administration said Thursday it has reunited roughly two in three of the children it forcibly separated from their families as a court-ordered deadline rapidly approached.
The administration has until midnight pacific time (0700 GMT) to reunite the children over five years of age that it separated amid President Donald Trump’s hardline immigration crackdown.
The government said it had reunited just 1,442 of the children it separated under a controversial policy it has since made a full about-face on.
According to court documents filed by the Justice Department, the administration reunited 1,442 children with their families and released an additional 378 under “appropriate circumstances “.
Those circumstances include children who turned 18 while in government custody or who were discharged to sponsors other than parents, government attorneys wrote in the filing.
There were a total of 2,551 children in government custody when a district court judge in San Diego ordered the government to reunite them with their families by the end of the day Thursday. Judge Dana Sabraw indicated last week he would give the government some leeway in meeting the requirement given the scope of the task.
The additional 711 are unable to be reunited for a variety of reasons, the bulk of whom — 431 — cannot be returned to their family members because their corresponding adult is no longer in the U.S., according to the filing. That is likely because they have already been deported from the country.
At least 94 other children cannot be returned because the administration is unable find their family members.
It is unclear when or if the over 700 children still separated from their families will be reunited.
A Justice Department spokeswoman told Anadolu Agency the administration plans to reunite all eligible children by Thursday's deadline.
