Federal judge orders Trump administration to halt deportations of newly reunited families News
Federal judge orders Trump administration to halt deportations of newly reunited families

A federal judge on Monday ordered the Trump administration to temporarily cease deporting families who have been reunited after the administration dropped its policy of separating undocumented children from their parents.

The American Civil Liberties Union [advocacy website] brought a request [motion] before Judge Dana Sabraw of the US District Court for the Southern District of California [official website] asking that families be given one week after being reunited with their separated children before they can be deported. The ACLU reasoned that the extra seven days would give families time to make “fully informed and voluntary decisions about whether to leave their children behind in the United States” if they wanted their children pursue asylum claims separate from their own.

This stay comes amidst a flurry of litigation concerning the Trump administration’s separation policy. Last week the administration said that it had reunited 57 immigrant children with their parents after Sabraw granted [JURIST reports] a preliminary injunction ordering the reunification of separated families.

The deadline for the US government to reunite all children over the age of five with their families is July 26.