BORDER/CHILDREN/IMMIGRATION/JUSTICE DEPARTMENT/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The U.S. government is struggling to reunite immigrant families it separated at the border with Mexico and only about half the children under age 5 will be back with their parents by a court-ordered deadline of Tuesday, a government attorney told a judge on Monday [7-9-18]. U.S. Judge Dana Sabraw in San Diego last month ordered the government to reunite the approximately 100 children under the age of 5 by Tuesday, and the estimated 2,000 older children by July 26. Sarah Fabian, an attorney with the U.S. Department of Justice, said 54 children younger than 5 would be reunited with parents by the end of Tuesday [7-10-18], and the number could increase depending on background checks. The other parents have either been deported, failed a criminal background check, were unable to prove they were the parent or had been released and immigration agents had been unable to contact them, said Fabian. The children were separated under U.S. President Donald Trump’s ‘zero tolerance’ policy that called for the prosecution of immigrants crossing the border illegally. The separations were in place from early May until Trump stopped the practice last month in the face of intense criticism.”
–Marty Graham, Tom Hals, “U.S. to reunite only half of young migrant children by Tuesday deadline,” Reuters, July 9, 2018 9:43 am