Government Says It Met Court-Ordered Deadline To Reunite ‘Eligible’ Families, But Hundreds Of Kids Remain In Custody
There are reports of failed reunifications, though, that are raising questions about whether the deadline has indeed been met. Beyond that, there are hundreds of parents who have either been deemed ineligible or were deported without their children.
The New York Times:
Federal Authorities Say They Have Met Deadline To Reunite Migrant Families
The federal government reported Thursday that it would meet a court-ordered deadline to reunite the last “eligible” migrant families separated at the Southwest border, but hundreds of children remained in federal custody as a result of a contentious immigration policy that has drawn international condemnation. (Dickerson, Correal and Ferman, 7/26)
The Washington Post:
Hundreds Of Migrant Children Remain In Custody, Though Most Separated Families Are Reunited At Court Deadline
But 711 children remain in government shelters because their parents have criminal records, their cases remain under review or the parents are no longer in the United States, officials said. The latter group includes 431 parents. Chris Meekins, an official at the Department of Health and Human Services, which has led the reunification effort, told reporters that “hundreds of staff have worked 24/7” to meet the court’s 30-day deadline. Administration officials said they would work with the court to figure out how to return the remaining children, including those whose parents have been deported. (Miroff and Schmidt, 7/26)
The Wall Street Journal:
Government Rushes To Meet Family-Reunification Deadline
Several immigrant advocacy groups, including the American Civil Liberties Union and Kids in Need of Defense, said they remained concerned the government’s reunification efforts weren’t going far enough. Lee Gelernt, the ACLU lawyer handling the group’s lawsuit that prompted the reunifications, said his organization was still waiting for information about which parents and children had been brought back together and where they were. “The Trump administration is trying to sweep them under the rug by unilaterally picking and choosing who is eligible for reunification,” Mr. Gelernt said. “We will continue to hold the government accountable and get these families back together.” (Caldwell and Campo-Flores, 7/26)
The Hill:
Hundreds Of Migrant Children Still Separated From Parents As Deadline Nears
Officials with HHS and DHS said the children are in custody for a variety of reasons, and not solely because of the Trump administration's "zero tolerance policy." Administration officials also disputed reports that the parents who waived their unification rights did not have a choice in the matter. Immigration activists have said they are also concerned parents might have signed away their rights without knowing what they were doing. (Wheeler and Weixel, 7/26)
The Associated Press:
US Government: Over 1,800 Migrant Kids Reunited By Deadline
Shy children were given a meal and a plane or bus ticket to locations around the U.S. as non-profit groups tried to smooth the way for kids reunited with their parents as a deadline loomed following their separations at the U.S. Mexico border. The Trump administration said Thursday that more than 1,800 children 5 years and older had been reunited with parents or sponsors hours before the deadline. That included 1,442 children who were returned to parents who were in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody, and another 378 who were released under a variety of other circumstances. (Spagat, Long and Snow, 7/27)
Reuters:
Reunited Family's Next Challenge: Fighting For U.S. Asylum
Maria Marroquin Perdomo fretted as she waited with her 11-year-old son, Abisai, in the New Orleans International Airport. A day earlier, the mother and son had been reunited in Texas after being separated by U.S. immigration officials for more than a month, an ordeal that followed a harrowing journey from Honduras. Now they awaited another reunion: With the father Abisai had not seen in person since he was an infant. (Thevenot and Elliott, 7/26)
ProPublica:
“Hidden In Plain Sight”: Hundreds Of Immigrants And Teens Housed In Opaque Network Of Chicago-Area Shelters
As the Trump administration has come under fire in recent weeks for its zero tolerance immigration crackdown, much attention has focused on the children and conditions at shelters along the country’s southern border and in major metropolitan areas on the coasts. ...The Illinois Department of Children and Family Services cited Heartland for a supervision violation after an employee was accused of having an inappropriate relationship with a minor at the International Children’s Crisis Center in Bronzeville in 2015. (Cohen, Eldelb and Sanchez, 7/27)
The New York Times:
Chaos Marks Effort To Reunite Separated Families, New York Officials Say
The children first came to New York in the dark and some left that way, too. Others, after much confusion, did not leave at all. As the federal government raced to meet a deadline on Thursday to reunite parents and children separated at the Southwest border, New York officials and lawyers for the children described the efforts as chaotic and contradictory, leaving many families still divided. (Robbins, 7/26)
New Orleans Times-Picayune:
Children Grapple With Trauma Of Deportation, As Experts Struggle To Find Solutions
With violence, migration and, in some cases, forced separation, comes trauma. Cities with significant populations of Central American migrants like New Orleans are having to grapple with the demand for specialized mental health resources, especially in the pediatric sector. Experts say they generally see this trauma occur across three primary points of time: violence experienced in the child's country of origin, any adverse experiences that occur along the journey, and the stress of resettlement in the United States. (Lopez, 7/26)
Chicago Tribune:
Naperville Father, Facing Deportation, Fights To Stay In U.S. To Help Care For Daughter Who Has Spina Bifida
Joyce Medina, who turns 3 this fall, proudly showed off her new red wheelchair, slowly pushing its small wheels across the wood floor of her Naperville home and looking up at the adults in the room for their approval. When her shyness took over, Joyce crawled to her father, Alejandro Medina Franco, and was lifted into his lap, her brown eyes peeking out from his embrace. On many days, Medina Franco rises at 5:30 a.m., either to go to work as a landscaper or to prepare to take Joyce to her latest appointment in Chicago, where a collection of specialists treats her severe spina bifida. (Coen, 7/26)
In other news, a poll finds a stark communication barrier for when Hispanic patients seek care —
The Associated Press:
AP-NORC Poll: Latinos Health Care Communication Woes
Nearly 6 in 10 Hispanic adults have had a difficult time communicating with a health care provider because of a language or cultural barrier, and when they do they often turn to outside sources for help, according to a new study conducted by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. (Swanson and Contreras, 7/27)
