Following the end of President Trump's U.S./Mexico border forced child separation policy, a judge ordered that all separated migrant children under 5-years-old be reunited with their families by July 10.
According to the Huffington Post, only four children have been reunited by that deadline. Seventy-one other children have been deemed "likely eligible" for immediate reunification, and the government promises they will be reunited with their families by the end of the day or soon after.
Of those 71 children, 51 are in ICE custody; 12 have deported parents; eight have parents who were released into the U.S.
“Well, I have a solution,” President Trump told reporters in response to not meeting the court-ordered deadline. “Tell people not to come to our country illegally. That’s the solution. Don’t come to our country illegally. Come like other people do. Come legally.”
Problematically, reporting by PBS NewsHour and others show migrants who arrived "legally" also had their children forcibly separated from them.
One Texas nonprofit, Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services (RAICES) wants to give the Trump administration a hand. RAICES plans to offer $20 million to provide bail bond funds to about 2,500 detained migrant mothers in hopes of speeding up reunification, The Hill reports.
“We will write every single individual bond check. The administration’s actions have already put a moral stain on the United States, and failure to accept this bond check will only delay and put reunification at risk,” said RAICES executive director Jonathan Ryan via press release.
RAICES held a press conference on Tuesday, July 10, in Washington D.C., urging Trump to accept the money to “enable the speedy release of the mothers of the approximate 2,500 children that have been separated so these families can be reunified.” The organization noted the president styles himself a "deal-maker," and this is a "chance to cut a deal."
We're in D.C. with a $20m check to pay bail bonds for over 2,000 mothers still detained.
More than 1 million people donated over $20m and their message is clear: reunite the families
Trump says he's a deal-maker, here's his chance to cut a deal. #ReuniteEveryChild pic.twitter.com/knBinmJJ50— RAICES (@RAICESTEXAS) July 10, 2018
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