A boy and father from Honduras are taken into custody by U.S. Border Patrol agents near the U.S.-Mexico Border on June 12 near Mission, Texas. | John Moore/Getty Images HHS says hundreds more migrant kids may have been separated than earlier count

HHS Secretary Alex Azar on Thursday acknowledged the Trump administration may have separated hundreds more migrant children from their parents than previously estimated as lawmakers from both parties called for greater scrutiny of the border policy.

"Somewhere less than 3,000 [children] is the maximum," Azar told reporters on a conference call, adding that about 100 children are under age 5. "We are erring on the side of inclusion until we can rule any connection out."


In updates to reporters and Congress, HHS last month said that it had custody of about 2,000 migrant kids separated by the Trump administration, dating to the beginning of May. But the agency has been reviewing nearly 12,000 case files to comply with a court order to reunify families and ensure that it hasn't missed any children who were previously separated and would be covered under a federal judge's ruling.

Dozens of members of Congress have suggested that the Trump administration is not moving quickly to put migrant families back together. Reps. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.) and Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) on Thursday called on Azar, DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen and Attorney General Jeff Sessions to produce information about reunification efforts and asked for a briefing within the next two weeks.

Azar defended his agency's efforts and disputed reports that the Trump administration is struggling to reunify families, vowing that his agency "knows its mission [and] we’re executing on that mission." For instance, the agency has deployed an "unprecedented" 230 personnel — including 100 additional case managers — to refugee facilities to help prepare families to be reunited, he said.

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Azar also said the agency hasn’t yet reunited children with parents who are in Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody — despite a court order that gave them just days to do so.

HHS is using DNA testing "to confirm parentage quickly and accurately" given the looming court order, Azar said. While immigration advocates have warned that using the technology would put the migrants' private information at risk, the DNA tests are necessary to safeguard the children, said Jonathan White, deputy director for children's programs at HHS’ Office of Refugee Resettlement.

"We expect that the great majority of these parents are exactly who they claim to be … but we have to protect children from people who would prey on them," White told reporters. "These DNA results are being used solely for that purpose and no other."

White said that HHS is using a qualified DNA testing contractor that sends DNA kits to the sites, where HHS or DHS personnel collect cheek swabs and send them back to the lab with "strict chain of custody." HHS personnel are only turning to DNA testing when reviewing a specific family relationship, officials said.

Azar also said he assigned three directives to his agency's emergency response team: generate accurate information, ensure communication between separated families and work to appropriately place children in custody with families or sponsors.

Meanwhile, the Department of Homeland Security is relocating parents of young children to facilities that are nearby in order to speed up reunification, Azar said.

The HHS secretary repeatedly blasted Congress for failing to act to change immigration laws and blamed some families for trying to illegally enter the United States.

"I want no children in our custody," Azar said. "We would rather them be with family members in our country or back home."

He also criticized “artificial deadlines created by the courts,” which he said may force HHS to cut corners on vetting how migrant children should be reunited with families.

A federal judge ruled last week that the Trump administration had until July 10 to reunite migrant children under age 5 with their parents, and until July 26 to reunite the rest. However, HHS has struggled with implementing the order, with staffers at the Office of Refugee Resettlement saying that they have received no instructions on how to proceed.

“Any confusion is due to a broken immigration system and court orders," Azar told reporters. "It's not here."

Advocates disputed Azar's characterization, arguing that the administration is dealing with a problem of its own making.

“The Trump administration's attempt to shift the blame to the court is incomprehensible given how much time the court gave the government to fix its own mess," the ACLU's Lee Gelernt said in a statement. “When the government wants to marshal its resources to separate families, it has shown that it can do it quickly and efficiently."

