Originally posted by the Voice of America.
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Separated Families Yet to Be Reunited as Deadlines Near

by VOA News

   The head of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said
   Thursday that the agency would comply with a court order to reunite
   parents and children separated at the U.S.-Mexico border.

   Secretary Alex Azar told reporters that his agency, which has thousands
   of children in its care, would "comply with the artificial deadlines
   created by the court, deadlines that were not informed by the process
   needed to vet parents, including confirming parentage, as well as
   determining the suitability of placement with that parent."

   So far, no reunifications have taken place.

   "What has not happened -- because this was simply an order,
   unprecedented a week ago Tuesday -- is to send children from our
   [Office of Refugee Resettlement] facilities to be reunited with their
   parents in [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] custody and care and
   to remain there," Azar said. "So that has not happened yet."

   Hundreds of additional HHS personnel have been assigned to the task of
   reunification as deadlines loom.

   On June 26, a federal court in California ordered HHS to meet the
   following deadlines:

   July 6: Children must be in contact with parents.

   July 10: Children under 5 must be reunited with parents.

   July 26: All families must be reunited.

   Azar said that of more than 11,800 children being held by HHS in
   shelters, fewer than 3,000 had been separated from parents. The rest
   are unaccompanied minors. He said about 100 of the separated children
   were 5 or under.

   Azar said his agency would use "every minute of the time" remaining to
   be sure that people who claim to be parents of separated children are
   indeed parents. The task requires compiling data from Customs and
   Border Patrol and ICE, and then, in cases where there are disparities,
   following up.

   Where there is no documentation, DNA samples will be used to match
   parents with children.

   "All of this work should be done before we reunite a child with a
   parent. In order to meet the court's deadlines, HHS has also had to
   narrow its traditional focus from the comprehensive review for the
   safety and suitability of sponsors," Azar said.
   He said ICE is moving people identified as parents closer to the
   shelters where their children are. When families are reunited, they
   will be turned over to ICE to be held in detention together.

   Perhaps because of the family separation policy, the number of
   apprehensions at the southwest border fell during June, according to
   the Department of Homeland Security, from 51,905 in May to 42,565 in
   June -- a drop of about 18 percent.