[T]he administration argued that immigrant advocacy groups – not the government – should be responsible for tracking down the more than 500 parents it had separated from their children at the border and deported without them…
“The reality is there are still close to 500 parents that have not been located, many of these parents were removed from the country without their child, all of this is the result of the government’s separation and then inability and failure to track and reunite,” Sabraw said.
“And the reality is that for every parent who is not located, there will be a permanent orphaned child, and that is 100% the responsibility of the administration,” he added….
In a court document Thursday, the Justice Department had suggested the American Civil Liberties Union should use its “network of law firms, NGOs, volunteers and others” to find the parents, using information the administration will provide.
“Plaintiffs’ counsel [ACLU] should ascertain whether each possible class member wishes to be reunified with his or her child, or whether he or she wishes to waive reunification,” the filing continued, adding that the ACLU would be “responsible for ensuring” the parents have the opportunity to get legal advice and consult with their children, with the government helping to “facilitate” those family communications. The ACLU “would then be responsible for providing Defendants with a final, unequivocal, written confirmation of whether each possible class member wants to be reunified with his or her child,” the filing said….
The ACLU argued that shifting the responsibility from the government is unacceptable….
The administration has maintained that any parents deported without their children willingly left without them. Attorneys and immigrant advocates, however, have questioned whether the parents fully understood what they were agreeing to. The ACLU filed a lengthy collection of sworn statements from attorneys who say some parents were asked to sign documents they didn’t understand, felt coerced to sign or believed they were agreeing to something to get their children back.
Judge slams Trump admin for suggesting ACLU, others should find deported parents
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