Washington (CNN) The Trump administration has identified 471 parents who were removed from the United States without their children, according to the latest court filing in an ongoing lawsuit.

At least some of those parents were deported before a June 2018 court order that required the government to better document parents' choices to elect or waive their right to be reunified with their children beforehand. That's not to say that parents weren't provided the opportunity, according to the Department of Homeland Security, but rather they did not fall under the court-ordered waiver procedure.

A DHS spokesman says prior to instituting the new waiver procedure ordered last June, separated parents were routinely asked by Immigrations and Customs Enforcement and their home consulates if they wished to be reunited with their children before being removed to their home countries.

"The Ms. L court filing today simply noted that the 'possible' universe of parents removed prior to the preliminary injunction was 471," the spokesman said. "While the preliminary injunction formalized the opportunity to elect or waive reunification, even prior to the preliminary injunction it was the routine practice of ICE to allow parents to choose to take their children with them when being removed."

The revelation of the 471 parents came in a filing in the class-action family separation lawsuit in San Diego. The administration has previously acknowledged that parents were removed without their children, but the latest report provides an updated count -- which had been requested by the American Civil Liberties Union to serve as a baseline to better track reunifications.

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