A federal judge has temporarily halted deportations of families recently reunited after being separated by the Trump administration. The order, issued by Judge Dana Sabraw on Monday, blocks removals for one week to allow the government to respond to concerns raised by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).
The ACLU filed a motion citing 'persistent and increasing rumours' of imminent mass deportations following reunification of children aged five to 17 with their parents. The group requested a one-week delay after reunification to ensure no family was improperly deported.
Judge Sabraw gave government lawyers until 9pm on 23 July to respond, after which he will issue a permanent ruling. He asked if there were jurisdictional issues, but no verbal objections were raised.
The Trump administration has said it completed reunifying all eligible children under five and is reuniting older children on a rolling basis. A court-ordered deadline requires reunification of over 2,500 children aged five and older by 26 July.
The administration's plan uses 'truncated' procedures to verify parentage and perform background checks, excluding DNA testing. The government argued this abbreviated vetting puts children at risk but is necessary to meet the deadline. Judge Sabraw rejected this, calling it a 'parade of horribles' and insisting the deadline be met.
Evelyn Stauffer, a spokeswoman for the Department of Health and Human Services, said the plan was proposed 'in the interests of transparency and cooperation' and that the department would strive to implement comprehensive procedures to ensure child welfare.
