The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) said more than 900 children have been separated from their families at the border since a judge ordered last year that the practice be sharply curtailed.
The group said in a court filing Tuesday in San Diego that 911 children had been separated from their families since the court order. They include 678 whose parents faced allegations of criminal conduct. Other reasons include alleged gang affiliation, unfitness or child safety concerns, “unverified familial relationship”, or parent illness.
The ACLU said about one of every five children separated is under five years old.
In June 2018, the judge ordered that the practice of splitting families at the border be halted except in limited circumstances, such as a parent’s criminal history or concerns about a child’s safety.
Separately, the Trump administration is scouting sites in central Florida, Virginia and Los Angeles for future facilities to hold unaccompanied minors who have crossed the US-Mexico border.
The US Department of Health and Human Services sent letters to Florida lawmakers Monday saying it is looking for vacant properties in those locations to build permanent licensed facilities for children under age 18 who have entered the US illegally without a parent or guardian.
The permanent sites will minimize the need for unlicensed temporary detention centers, according to the letter.
“The search for an addition of permanent licensed facilities is being pursued to reduce the potential need for temporary influx shelters in the future,” the letter said.
The nation’s largest child migrant facility is in Homestead, Florida, where immigrant advocates have described “prisonlike” conditions.
Existing migrant facilities have become a flashpoint in the 2020 presidential race. In recent weeks, Democratic lawmakers and presidential candidates have visited and toured facilities in Texas and Florida and decried the conditions in which they found migrants. Protests have sprung up nationwide as the public outcry builds momentum.
