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Tuesday, November 13, marks 110 days since a federal judge’s reunification deadline, yet migrant children kidnapped from the arms of parents at the southern border continue to remain separated from their families, according to new numbers from the Trump administration.
Of 25 children eligible for reunification, tweeted MSNBC correspondent Jacob Soboroff, the parents of 18 have already been deported. Regarding three of those children, the court filing states that the “Steering Committee has advised that resolution will be delayed.” It’s unclear what this means, but looking back at some of the administration’s botched reunifications, that doesn’t sound good at all.
In October, Trump officials deported a 4 year old to her home country of Guatemala without first informing her parents. The girl, who had been separated from her dad for six months, was forced to spend “yet another night in a government-run shelter, according to Kids In Need of Defense.” In other instances, ACLU leaders have had to do the job of incompetent Trump officials and navigate “treacherous roads, distrustful communities and remote villages” to try to locate parents that Trump officials carelessly deported.
The filing also reveals that the administration has a separate group of separated children in custody. Ninety-nine separated children still under custody have “deported parents who have chosen not to reunite,” MSNBC correspondent Jacob Soboroff tweeted. Perhaps some parents felt their child deserved a chance here. Perhaps others were coerced into being deported, as reports have indicated.
In spite of getting electorally rebuked in battleground areas over his anti-immigrant fearmongering, Donald Trump’s attack on migrant kids continues as he also ramps up his attacks on an untold number of asylum seekers, by unveiling an asylum ban that tries to trump U.S. and international law and slam the door shut on the most vulnerable at the southern border. “President Trump’s proclamation suspending asylum rights is illegal,” the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) said in a release, “so we’re suing.”
Last week’s Democratic sweep of the House could finally mean some accountability and probes into the ongoing family separation crisis, the administration quest to detain families indefinitely, and presidential attacks on asylum, but it could be months before any sort of ball gets rolling. With Trump’s daily disgraces squeezing out the ongoing crises he has caused, it’s up to us to keep speaking out about the children and vulnerable families who voters said, on Election Day, we must not forget.