Less than half of the migrant children under five years old who have been separated from their families at the border will be reunited in time for a court-ordered deadline on Tuesday, the American Civil Liberties Union claimed on Sunday night.
The ACLU cited a list of children under five which was provided by the Trump administration, the Associated Press reported.
The ACLU said the list showed 102 children under 5 years old and that it “appears likely that less than half will be reunited.”
The Justice Department asked U.S. District Judge Dana Sabraw last week to extend the July 10 deadline to reunite children under 5 as well as the July 26 cutoff to reunite all other children. Sabraw did not grant an extension.
With lengthy DNA tests and missing records delaying the process, the government is in what the New York Times called a “chaotic scramble” to undo the terrible mess it’s made.
“It’s extremely disappointing that the Trump administration looks like it will fail to reunite even half the children under 5 with their parent,” ACLU attorney Lee Gelernt said in a statement. “These kids have already suffered so much because of this policy, and every extra day apart just adds to that pain.”
I have reached out to the Justice Department for comment and will update this post if I hear back.