The judge’s deadline was today. Children under 5 years old separated from their parents in President Trump’s Zero Tolerance enforcement had to be reunited with their parents, and that includes several here in Michigan.
All of the kids brought to Michigan went through one agency, Bethany Christian Services based in Grand Rapids. That’s where the seven kids were reunited with their parents.
According to an attorney with the ACLU, two of the kids reunited came here from Honduras with their fathers. The ACLU said that in preparation for today, the fathers were transferred from Texas to the Calhoun County Jail. Tonight they are on supervised release with ICE and the ACLU has set up emergency housing for them.
The facts about the overall number of cases in Michigan remain unclear. The ACLU says a total of 102 kids came through Michigan over the last three months. Seven children under 5 years old were reunited today. But one child remains alone. The parents were deported out of the U.S., although Bethany Christian Services is not confirming that one child has not been reunited. They say all seven of the kids in their custody have been reunited - 100 percent.
They won’t say how many total kids they’ve taken in, and they won’t say how many kids are still remaining in their care. They say nearly half of the kids they have taken in have been reunited with their parents.
The feds say some 40 kids under 5 years old nationwide won’t be reunited with their parents for various reasons, including their parents have been released by the feds or deported.
For kids under 17 years old, the deadline for them to be reunited is July 26.
