Originally posted by the Voice of America.
Voice of America content is produced by the Voice of America,
a United States federal government-sponsored entity, and is in
the public domain.


Judge Praises 'Great Progress' Reuniting Families Split at Border

by Associated Press

   SAN DIEGO --

   A federal judge on Friday applauded Trump administration efforts to
   meet a deadline to reunite more than 2,500 children with their families
   after they were separated at the border.

   Justice Department attorneys said in federal court in San Diego that
   450 children age 5 and older had been reunified, up from 364 a day
   earlier.

   "I'm just very impressed with the effort that has been made," U.S.
   District Judge Dana Sabraw said. "It really does appear that great
   progress has been made."

   Hundreds of children are still awaiting reunions with their family.

   In a court filing Thursday, the administration said about 1,600 parents
   were believed to be eligible for reunification and about 900 were not
   eligible or "not yet known to be eligible."

   Nearly 700 of the ineligible parents are being vetted. Another 91 have
   been found to have a "prohibitive criminal record" or been deemed
   ineligible by U.S. Immigration and Customs and Enforcement.

   Another 136 waived reunification, according to the Justice Department.

   It appeared unlikely that all the children would be reunified by the
   July 26 deadline. More than 200 parents have been released into the
   U.S. and parents of an unknown number of children have been deported.

   Friday's hearing was the sixth in three weeks and two more are
   scheduled next week, a sign of how closely the judge is monitoring the
   process.

   His praise for the administration was a sharp turnaround from last
   week, when he said he was having second thoughts about whether the
   government was acting in good faith. The government submitted a revised
   reunification plan two days later that was well received by the judge.

   In late June, Sabraw set deadlines of July 10 to reunify dozens of
   children under 5 with their families and July 26 for reunifications
   involving 2,551 children 5 and older.