US judge extends deadline to reunite migrant children
Washington, July 10 : A US federal judge has agreed to extend Tuesday's deadline for the government to reunite 102 migrant children under the age of five who were separated from their parents under President Donald Trump's "zero tolerance" policy.
On Monday, Judge Dana Sabraw asked government attorneys to provide an update by Tuesday morning on which children will be reunited and who will require more time, and to deliver a proposed timeline for reuniting the remaining children with their parents, reports NBC News.
During the conference in a federal court in San Diego, Sabraw said he recognised that some cases "will necessitate additional time."
Sarah Fabian, an attorney for the Justice Department, said she expects that 54 out of 102 children will be reunited with their parents on Tuesday.
The government requested a deadline extension on July 6, telling Sabraw it would be able to reunite only about half of the children by the court's first deadline of Tuesday because it could not locate many of the parents.
On Monday, Fabian said nine of the parents have been deported and nine have been released, making them more difficult to track down.
Other parents have criminal records that will keep them from being reunited, the attorney added.
The government's difficulty in reuniting migrant children with their parents has caused outrage among immigration and child welfare advocates who warned against separation, NBC News reported.
From May 7 to June 20, the US Customs and Border Protection was instructed to prosecute any adult immigrant caught crossing the border illegally, thereby sending parents to federal custody while children were taken into the care of the Health and Human Services.
The agency has said nearly 3,000 children need to be reunited as a result of Sabraw's order that all children separated from their parents be reunited, even those who were taken before the policy went into place.
Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said the agency is searching for parents through various government databases.
On Saturday, at Sabraw's request, the government provided a list of the 102 children under the age of five who said they had been separated from their parents by Border Patrol, along with any information on their parent's whereabouts.
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Five to six opposition MLAs might cross over to Mahayuti in few months: NCP chief whip Anil Patil
Mumbai, Nov 24: There is unrest in the Maha Vikas Aghadi camp and its five to six MLAs might join the ruling Mahayuti in the next few months, claimed NCP chief whip Anil Patil, who has retained his Amalner assembly seat, on Sunday.
The MVA of Congress, NCP (SP) and Shiv Sena (UBT) suffered a crushing blow in the Maharashtra assembly polls, winning only 46 of the state's 288 seats. By contrast, the BJP-led ruling coalition, which also has NCP and Shiv Sena as partners, bagged an impressive 230 seats.
“There is tremendous unrest among some NCP (SP), Congress and Sena (UBT) MLAs who have been re-elected. Those having good relations with us have expressed concerns over MVA’s massive defeat,” Patil told Marathi news channel ABP Majha.
If one wants development works in his constituency, it is good to be in power, said the legislator from Ajit Pawar’s party.
“The MVA MLAs feel their future is uncertain. It shouldn’t be a surprise if five to six MLAs cross over to the Mahayuti in the next four months,” he said.
In the results of the Maharashtra polls declared on Saturday, BJP won in 132 constituencies, while its partners Shiv Sena and NCP walked away with 57 and 41 seats, respectively.
From the MVA camp, Shiv Sena (UBT) bagged 20 seats followed by Congress’ 16 and 10 by NCP (SP).
