The Trump administration has taken hundreds of children from their families at the United States-Mexico border since a judge ordered the practice be stopped last year, Lawyers for the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) told a federal judge on Tuesday.

Of the hundreds of thousands of children detained at the border since the court order last year, 911 had been separated from their families, the ACLU said in a 218-page court filing in San Diego citing data from the US Justice Department. That number includes the 678 whose parents faced allegations of criminal conduct.

The nonprofit group says one in every five children separated is under the age of 5.

In June 2018, US District Court Dana Sabraw issued a preliminary injunction that ordered the government to halt the practice of splitting families at the border except in limited circumstances — such as concerns about a child's safety. He also told the Trump administration to reunite more than 2,700 children who were in government custody at the time with their families.

Read more: White House admits family reunifications from Mexican border separations could take 2 years

Watch video 02:37 Share Kids still wait for reunion Send Facebook google+ Whatsapp Tumblr linkedin stumble Digg reddit Newsvine Permalink https://p.dw.com/p/32BWk Hundreds of migrant children still not with parents

Separations over minor offenses?

Kevin McAleenan, the acting Homeland Security Secretary, has said that family separations are "extremely rare" and only occur when a parent poses a risk to a child due to his or her criminal record, a communicable disease, abuse or neglect.

However, the ACLU says federal immigration and border protection agents are separating families based on minor offenses.

One migrant lost his child because of a $5 theft that resulted in a six-day jail sentence, the group said. Another migrant lost his daughter because a border patrol agent claimed he had failed to change the girl's diaper.

Six others were separated from their children for convictions of marijuana possession, while eight more had their children taken away for fraud and forgery offenses.

A government spreadsheet shows 44 separations based on assault allegations. However, in 11 of those cases, there is no indication that the parent was convicted and 34 don't signify the severity of the offense, the ACLU said.

The group asked the judge to order the government to clarify when separations should be allowed to occur.

The vast and perilous US-Mexico border Tijuana and San Diego's walled beach A large wall stretches into the Pacific Ocean at the beaches of San Diego and Tijuana, two populous cities separated by the US-Mexico border. It is one of the most secure areas of the frontier and is part of the 1100 kilometers (700 miles) of fencing that have been completed thus far.

The vast and perilous US-Mexico border Politically divisive The fight over how to secure the border has divided Republicans, who support more fencing, and Democrats, who argue that using technology is more effective. Experts estimate it would cost $15-25 billion (€13-22 billion) to fully wall off the entire southern frontier.

The vast and perilous US-Mexico border The dangerous desert stretch Large swaths of the border are covered in desert, desolate and uninhabited. Many migrants try to cross these areas, where they fall victim to disorientation, dehydration and where the risk of death is high. Activists often leave water (pictured) and other supplies to help migrants survive the dangerous trek.

The vast and perilous US-Mexico border The Rio Grande Roughly half of the 3,000-kilometer border falls along the snaking Rio Grande. Migrants regularly attempt to cross the river, either by swimming or on rafts. The calm appearance of the Rio Grande is deceitful, as it is a fast-moving river with dangerous currents.

The vast and perilous US-Mexico border Crowded points of entry The US-Mexico border is considered the most transited frontier in the world. Most of the movement takes place at the various points of entry, where lawful back-and-forth traffic and asylum-seekers meet. The Matamoros-Brownsville International Bridge (pictured) is one of 44 official points of entry and the last one before the border ends at the Gulf of Mexico. Author: Jenipher Camino Gonzalez



dv/aw (AP, dpa)

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