Trump Administration's Failure To Reunite Migrant Families 'Unacceptable' - US Senator

The Trump administration's failure to comply with a court order and reunite all children and parents separated for crossing into the United States illegally is unacceptable, US Senator Jeff Merkley said in a statement on Tuesday.

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 20th November, 2018) The Trump administration's failure to comply with a court order and reunite all children and parents separated for crossing into the United States illegally is unacceptable, US Senator Jeff Merkley said in a statement on Tuesday.

"There are still children in custody, with potential plans to expand and accelerate the child-snatching policy," Merkely said via Twitter. "Inhumane and unacceptable."

The Trump Administration's self-described "zero-tolerance" immigration policy led to the separation of thousands of families who were detained for crossing the US-Mexico border illegally.

On June 26, a Federal judge in California issued a preliminary ruling to stop the separation of families at the US border and immediately reunify children with their parents.

In response to the ruling, the US government identified 2,654 children in Office of Refugee Resettlement custody who potentially met reunification criteria, of which 437 children remained in custody as of September 10, the General Accountability Office (GAO) said in an audit released last month.

Last month, Amnesty International reported that more than 6,000 families were forcibly separated as a result of the White House policy. Since 2017, an estimated 8,000 asylum-seeking families have been broken up, the report said.