The Trump administration appears set to fail in plans to reunite even half of children under 5 with their families before the court-ordered deadline.
With the deadline for the Trump administration to reunify children under 5 with their parents just hours away, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has said the government is likely to fail to meet its target.
The ACLU, which launched the lawsuit that saw the Trump administration ordered to reunite all children separated from their families under its “zero tolerance” policy, said the administration looks set to fail to reunite even half of children under 5 with their parents.
“It’s extremely disappointing that the Trump administration looks like it will fail to reunite even half the children under 5 with their parents,” Lee Gelernt, deputy director of the ACLU’s Immigrants’ Rights Project, said in a statement according to Newsweek.
Trump Admin Says All Eligible Immigrant Children Reunited with Families, But Some Still Held for Safety Concerns
All eligible small children who were separated from their families under the “zero-tolerance” immigration policy have been reunited with their loved ones, the Trump administration has said.
However nearly half of the children under the age of five still remain in government custody due to safety concerns, the deportation of their family members or another reason, according to the Department of Homeland Security.
Of the 103 children under the age of five, 57 of them were reunited with their parents. But 46 children were deemed ineligible for reunification, 22 for safety concerns and 24 because of their parents’ current immigration status.
“Throughout the reunification process our goal has been the well-being of the children and returning them to a safe environment,” Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar, Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, and Attorney General Jeff Sessions said in a joint statement.
