The January report, by the Office of Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services, revealed that a group of separated families was unaccounted for because the government lacked an effective tracking system. In March, Judge Sabraw ruled that those families should be included in the litigation. When the government previously identified children for reunification, it included only the children who were detained at the time of the reunification order. Judge Sabraw wrote in his March 8 order that because all of these families had been subjected to the same policies and had been separated under “questionable circumstances,” they should have the same opportunity for relief. Although identifying the families may be burdensome, as the government argued, “it clearly can be done,” the judge wrote.

Source: New York Times April 06, 2019 23:26 UTC