Judge: Trump Administration ‘100 Percent’ Responsible for Reunifications

A federal judge told lawyers representing the Trump administration that it was “100 percent” the government's responsibility to find the parents of children who were separated by family separation and deported by immigration officials. “It appears only 12 or 13 of over 500 parents have been located, which is just unacceptable at this point. And it appears that there is not a plan in place,” U.S. District Judge Dana Sabraw told them on Friday, lamenting that the government did not have a clear plan on how to locate the deported parents. The Trump administration also suggested that the American Civil Liberties Union, who is suing the government on behalf of the parents, to use their own resources to help find the parents. “All of this is the result of the government’s separation and then inability and failure to track and reunite,” Judge Sabraw said. “And for every parent who is not located there will be a permanently orphaned child, and that is 100 percent the responsibility of the administration.” She then ordered the government to appoint a person or team to “to prepare and present to the court a clear plan for remaining reunifications.” Many of the over 400 parents who were deported are located in countries like Guatemala and Honduras. On Thursday, the ACLU told the court that the government’s databases don’t have sufficient home addresses for about 120 of the children who still need to be reunified.