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ACLU Comment on Trump Administration List of Children Under 5 Forcibly Separated from Parents

Parties Back in Court Tomorrow Ahead of Tuesday’s Reunification Deadline

Case: Ms. L v. ICE
July 8, 2018 1:00 pm
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SAN DIEGO — Under court order, the Trump administration provided a list of children under 5 that it forcibly separated from parents. The government initially provided incomplete information by the Saturday evening deadline, and issued revised details today.

The list was provided to the American Civil Liberties Union, which won a June 26 preliminary injunction requiring reunification of children under 5 within 14 days, and all children within 30 days. At Friday’s hearing, U.S. District Judge Dana Sabraw ordered the Trump administration to produce the list by 5 p.m. PT/8 p.m. ET on Saturday.

A list of names for 102 children was given to the ACLU. It appears likely that less than half will be reunited by Tuesday's court-ordered deadline.

At Friday’s hearing, the court left intact the reunification deadlines (July 10 for children under 5 and July 26 for all children) despite a last-minute government filing suggesting it needed more time. The parties are back in court tomorrow at 10 a.m. PT/1 p.m. ET in San Diego to discuss next steps.

Lee Gelernt, deputy director of the ACLU’s Immigrants’ Rights Project, said:

“It’s extremely disappointing that the Trump administration looks like it will fail to reunite even half the children under 5 with their parents. These kids have already suffered so much because of this policy, and every extra day apart just adds to that pain.”

Case details are here: https://www.aclu.org/cases/ms-l-v-ice

More information is here: https://www.aclu.org/families-belong-together

Ms. L with her daughter

Ms. L v. ICE

SETTLEMENT UPDATE: Sept. 26, 2024: Attorneys Fees Settlement Agreement: https://www.aclu.org/documents/ms-l-attorneys-fees-settlement-agreement Attorneys Fees Class Notice (English): https://www.aclu.org/documents/ms-l-attorneys-fees-class-notice-english Aviso de clase de La Resolución de honorarios (en español): https://www.aclu.org/documents/ms-l-attorneys-fees-class-notice-spanish Attorneys Fees Unopposed Motion and Supporting Declarations: https://www.aclu.org/documents/ms-l-attorneys-fees-unopposed-motion-and-supporting-declarations SETTLEMENT UPDATE: Dec.1, 2023 Here are links to the proposed family separation settlement and Notice of Rights in English and Spanish. The Notice of Rights explains the settlement and next steps to seek final approval of the settlement, including the opportunity to object: Settlement Document: https://www.aclu.org/documents/ms-l-amended-settlement Notice (English): https://www.aclu.org/documents/ms-l-v-ice-notice-english Notice (Spanish): https://www.aclu.org/documents/ms-l-v-ice-notice-spanish    

Source: American Civil Liberties Union

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