A federal judge on Friday expanded the pool of migrant families separated at the U.S.-Mexico border who may require reunification under an existing court order.
The decision could pose considerable difficulty for the administration in locating and reconnecting children and parents split apart before and after the launch of President Donald Trump’s “zero tolerance” border strategy.
That policy, which ran publicly from April until June, called for all suspected border crossers — including parents and asylum seekers — to face prosecution for illegal entry. As a result, thousands of families were separated, although the total remains unknown.
The order issued Friday by San Diego-based U.S. District Judge Dana Sabraw will keep the administration on the defensive over the separations, a controversial practice that experts argue can result in lifelong damage to a child’s health. The judge temporarily stayed the decision to allow further debate in court about how families could be reunited.
The International Criminal Court has cleared the way for its prosecutor to investigate possible war crimes...
