On Thursday, the Trump administration announced that court-ordered deadlines for the reunification of immigrant families separated at the US border would be met, even while immigration politics continue to cause controversy in the US. Alex Azar, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, says that children in the care of his department will be reunited with their parents from next Tuesday, with DNA testing used as a backup to speed the process and confirm the link between parents and their children.
But, Azar pointed out that many families could stay in immigration custody for a long time, including some who have claimed asylum. Immigrants seeking asylum often gained temporary release until the resolution of their cases before the zero-tolerance policy enacted by the Trump administration.
Azar estimated that fewer than 3,000 immigrant minors had been separated from their parents under the policy, a figure revised from the number of 2,047 given last week to a hearing in the Senate, but which he says is a reflection of the case files being more thoroughly examined by HHS over a longer period, to comply with the reunification court order.
US District Judge, Dana Sabraw, from San Diego, ordered that the youngest children involved be reunited with their parents by no later than next Tuesday, with a court hearing on the plans and efforts of the administration scheduled for Friday.