WASHINGTON _ Criminal background checks, DNA tests, deportations, illnesses and cumbersome communication between three federal government agencies and even more sub-agencies have delayed the reunification of immigrant families that were separated at the border.
The Trump administration was supposed to reunite 102 children under age 5 with their parents by Tuesday, according to a deadline imposed by a federal judge in California. It still has not said how many were actually reunited, but figures released Tuesday indicated only four children had been reunited.
U.S. District Judge Dana Sabraw, who originally set the deadline for reuniting families, reduced the number to 63 Tuesday after testimony by the government on why some families could not be reunited. He also called for a more "streamlined approach" to the process. The federal government will have to testify to Sabraw Thursday on how many children of the 63 they were able to reunite.
