Trump Administration Puts Burden On ACLU To Locate Deported Parents Of Separated Children
The American Civil Liberties Union is pushing back, saying that the White House's “unconstitutional separation practice” precipitated the crisis and that the federal government has far more resources than non-governmental organizations to find the parents.
The Associated Press:
US, ACLU Divide On How To Reunify Separated Families
The Trump administration and the American Civil Liberties Union on Thursday revealed widely divergent plans on how to reunite hundreds of immigrant children with parents who have been deported since the families were separated at the U.S.-Mexico border. President Donald Trump’s administration puts the onus on the ACLU, asking that the organization use its “considerable resources” to find parents in their home countries, predominantly Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras. The U.S. Justice Department said in a court filing that the State Department has begun talks with foreign governments on how the administration may be able to aid the effort. (Spagat, 8/3)
Politico:
Trump Administration Tells ACLU To Find Deported Parents
“Plaintiffs’ counsel should use their considerable resources and their network of law firms, NGOs, volunteers, and others, together with the information that defendants have provided (or will soon provide), to establish contact with possible class members in foreign countries,” DOJ said. The administration suggested that the ACLU find out whether the deported parents wish to be reconnected with their children, or whether they waive that option. (Hesson, 8/2)
San Diego Union-Times:
U.S. Government Wants ACLU To Find Missing Immigrant Parents
The ACLU pushed back in its part of the filing, asking the judge in the class-action lawsuit to order the government to keep working on its own to locate parents and to provide more information to the civil rights organization so that it can assist in the reunification. “The government must bear the ultimate burden of finding the parents,” the ACLU wrote in the filing. “Not only was it the government’s unconstitutional separation practice that led to this crisis, but the United States government has far more resources than any group of NGOs,” or nongovernmental organizations. (Morrissey, 8/2)
KQED:
In 'Remarkable' Court Filing, Government 'Washing Their Hands' Of Reuniting Deported Parents With Their Children
The Trump administration suggested in a federal court filing Thursday that the American Civil Liberties Union and other private organizations should take responsibility for reuniting more than 400 migrant children separated from parents deported under the government's "zero-tolerance" immigration policy. The latest status report in the San Diego-based federal case that compelled the government to reunite separated families says the parents of 410 children are outside the United States -- meaning they had been deported without their children, according to statements from a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement official last week. (Sepulvado, 8/2)