dearJulius.com
HomeUS

Justice Department seeks more time to reunify migrant families

Thunderstorms pose possible new danger for crews battling 17,300-acre fire near Yosemite
California Highway 1 re-opens after May 2017 landslide
White House announces Trump's nominee to lead Census
The Department of Justice said it's using DNA tests to prove biological connections between parents and children, and vetting to ensure parents don't pose a risk to their children. Photo by Jim Ruymen/UPI | License Photo

By Danielle Haynes, UPI

The Justice Department asked a federal judge for more time to conduct the necessary steps to reunite children immigration officials separated from their parents.

The judge ordered the Health and Human Services Department to reunite children younger than 5 by Tuesday and children between 5 and 17 by July 26. But federal officials said the process involving DNA testing and vetting to ensure the safety of the child means they won't be able to meet the deadline.



"The government does not wish to unnecessarily delay reunification," the government said in a court document filed Thursday. "At the same time, however, the government has a strong interest in ensuring that any release of a child from government custody occurs in a manner that ensures the safety of the child."

In addition to checking for a biological connection between parent and child, HHS officials were vetting parents to make sure they were not "unfit" or present a danger to their child.

Earlier in the day, HHS Secretary Alex Azar said the department was using DNA tests to try to quickly comply with the court deadline and reunited the children -- nearly 3,000 of them.

Azar described the court order as "extreme" and said the department won't be able to use its usual methods for parental verification -- like checking birth certificates -- to meet the deadlines because those processes take longer.



In mid-June, the Department of Homeland Security said it separated nearly 2,000 children from their parents in April and May after the Department of Justice announced a "zero-tolerance" policy to prosecute everyone who crosses the border illegally.

"If you are smuggling a child, then we will prosecute you and that child will be separated from you as required by law. If you don't like that, then don't smuggle children over our border," Attorney General Jeff Sessions said in early May.

The new policy faced backlash from immigrant advocates and lawmakers from the Democratic and Republican parties, and on June 20, President Donald Trump signed an executive order ending the practice of separating families. The order, though, didn't address how or when already-separated families would be reunited.

The government questioned Thursday whether the court order meant agencies had to reunite children with parents already deported by the deadline and those separated prior to the start of the new "zero-tolerance" policy.

"The government respectfully requests clarification from the court as to whether the process for confirming parentage implemented by HHS is consistent with the court's understanding of its mandate, and seeks clarification that in cases where parentage cannot be confirmed quickly, HHS will not be in violation of the court's order if reunification occurs outside of the timelines provided by the court," the Justice Department said, offering to propose an alternative timeline for reunification.
Note: If you think this story need more information or correction, feel free to comment below your opinion and reaction.

COMMENTS

DISQUS
Name

Alabama,1,Arizona,1,California,8,Colorado,1,Connecticut,1,Crime,553,Fashion,3,Florida,3,Hawaii,8,Illinois,2,Lifestyle,3,Massachusetts,6,Mississippi,1,New York,14,News,617,Oregon,1,Texas,1,US,2101,Washington,7,Weather,11,
ltr
item
US News: Justice Department seeks more time to reunify migrant families
Justice Department seeks more time to reunify migrant families
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjunEkNYVqpjMkA9wfFHFLnH9cYQNugPfvANGjmB1Ogr1pxqZaq3jV-Stb5lQrUSWUT5NpRvg9vxa1gSsyA90qjOE2Yq2PCmrmENnQvqv_FYaDlqC243kLk885ApY8G_N-8cPAKzV2vO8i6/s1600/4.jpg
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjunEkNYVqpjMkA9wfFHFLnH9cYQNugPfvANGjmB1Ogr1pxqZaq3jV-Stb5lQrUSWUT5NpRvg9vxa1gSsyA90qjOE2Yq2PCmrmENnQvqv_FYaDlqC243kLk885ApY8G_N-8cPAKzV2vO8i6/s72-c/4.jpg
US News
https://us.dailynewsview.com/2018/07/justice-department-seeks-more-time-to.html
https://us.dailynewsview.com/
https://us.dailynewsview.com/
https://us.dailynewsview.com/2018/07/justice-department-seeks-more-time-to.html
true
163793216656047553
UTF-8
Loaded All Posts Not found any posts VIEW ALL Read More Reply Cancel reply Delete By Home PAGES POSTS View All RECOMMENDED FOR YOU LABEL ARCHIVE SEARCH ALL POSTS Not found any post match with your request Back Home Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat January February March April May June July August September October November December Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec just now 1 minute ago $$1$$ minutes ago 1 hour ago $$1$$ hours ago Yesterday $$1$$ days ago $$1$$ weeks ago more than 5 weeks ago Followers Follow THIS PREMIUM CONTENT IS LOCKED STEP 1: Share. STEP 2: Click the link you shared to unlock Copy All Code Select All Code All codes were copied to your clipboard Can not copy the codes / texts, please press [CTRL]+[C] (or CMD+C with Mac) to copy