Judge Halts Deportations of Reunited Illegal Alien Families
By ABC News. A federal judge on Monday ordered a temporary halt to deportations of immigrant families reunited after being separated at the border, as the Trump administration races to meet a July 26 deadline for putting more than 2,500 children back in their parents’ arms.
U.S. District Judge Dana Sabraw imposed a delay of at least a week after a request from the American Civil Liberties Union, which cited “persistent and increasing rumors … that mass deportations may be carried out imminently and immediately upon reunification.” . . .
The ACLU requested that parents have at least one week to decide whether to pursue asylum in the U.S. after they are reunited with their children. The judge held off on deciding that issue until the government outlines its objections in writing by next Monday. . .
The hearing in San Diego occurred as the government accelerated reunifications at eight unidentified U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement locations. The families are scattered around the country, the adults at immigration detention centers, the children at shelters overseen by the government.
Annunciation House, a shelter in El Paso, said the government has begun transporting children in a “tremendous amount of airline flights” to El Paso and elsewhere. Director Ruben Garcia said he is preparing to take in as many as 100 reunified families a day. (Read more from “Judge Halts Deportations of Reunited Illegal Alien Families” HERE)
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40 Percent Vacancy: Feds Release Illegal Alien Families Instead of Filling Detention Centers
By Washington Times. The government pays for thousands of detention beds for illegal immigrant families, but nearly 40 percent of them were sitting unused in late June, even as the Department of Homeland Security was rushing to release parents and children into communities.
The empty beds were revealed in court documents late last month. Lawyers who monitor U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s facilities said two major facilities were running well below capacity.
ICE’s biggest facility in Dilley, Texas, can hold 2,400 parents and children — but on June 27 and 28 it was at just 63 percent capacity, with 886 beds empty, the detainee logs showed.
Although the beds were empty, the government was still paying for them. (Read more from “40 Percent Vacancy: Feds Release Illegal Alien Families Instead of Filling Detention Centers” HERE)
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