Hundreds of Migrant Kids in U.S. Limbo Have No Clear Path Forward
- Government says it’s met legal obligations to reunify children
- ACLU wants details to verify U.S.’s claim on meeting deadline
A child watches television in a processing center of a U.S. Customs border and protection facility.
Photographer: Carolyn Kaster/APThis article is for subscribers only.
The Trump administration declared it met a judge’s deadline to reunify immigrant children taken from their parents, but left out a quarter of the separated families it initially agreed to reconnect.
In all, 711 children are in limbo as federal authorities have categorized their parents “not eligible” or “not available” to be reunited. More than half those children are associated with adults who have left the U.S., either having been deported or having agreed to leave the country. In other cases, parents may have a serious criminal record or signed documents giving up the right to get their children back.