SAN DIEGO (CNS) - A San Diego federal judge Friday ordered the Trump administration to produce by 5 p.m. Saturday a list of all children under 5 who have been forcibly separated from their parents at the border.
The American Civil Liberties Union won a June 26 preliminary injunction as part of a class-action lawsuit requiring reunification of children under 5 with 14 days, and all children within 30 days.
On Thursday, the Department of Justice filed a motion with U.S. District Judge Dana Sabraw, saying more time may be needed to reunify the separated families.
The motion also asked for clarification on the class of unauthorized immigrants that Sabraw's order applies to, including whether it includes parents who have already been deported.
After a status conference, the judge left intact the reunification deadlines of July 10 and July 26 and ordered the federal government to provide a list of all children under 5 who have been separated from their parents.
"The judge made it very clear he wasn't going to allow the Trump administration to drag its feet on reunifying these children with their parents," said Lee Gelernt, deputy director of the ACLU's Immigrants' Rights Project.
The federal government said the reunification process is going faster for parents in Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody than those who have been released.
As many as 3,000 children remain separated from their parents, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
