Radio spots are airing throughout Mexico and Central America. Court-appointed researchers are motorbiking through rural hillside communities in Guatemala and showing up at courthouses in Honduras to conduct public record searches.

Their efforts are part of a wide-ranging campaign to track down parents separated from their children at the U.S. border beginning in 2017 under the Trump administration’s most controversial immigration policy. It is now clear that the parents of 545 of the migrant children still have not been found, according to court documents filed this week in a case challenging the practice.

About 60 of the children were under the age of 5 when they were separated, the documents show.

Though attempts to find the separated parents have been going on for years, the number of parents who have been deemed “unreachable” is much larger than was previously known.

Under court order, the government first provided an accounting of separated families in June of 2018, reporting that about 2,700 children had been taken from their parents after crossing into the United States. After months of searching by a court-appointed steering committee, which includes a private law firm and several immigrant advocacy organizations, all of those families were eventually tracked down and offered the opportunity to be reunited.

But in January 2019, a report by the Health and Human Services Department's Office of the Inspector General confirmed that many more children had been separated, including under a previously undisclosed pilot program conducted in El Paso, Texas, between June and November 2017, before the administration’s widely publicized “zero tolerance” policy officially went into effect.

Under that policy, the Trump administration directed prosecutors to file criminal charges against those who crossed the border without authorization, including parents, who were then separated from their children when they were taken into custody. Some parents who crossed the border at legal ports of entry were also among those separated from their children.

The Trump administration fought for months against providing documentation on the additional families, arguing that it was not necessary because the children had already been released from federal custody into the care of sponsors, who are typically relatives or family friends. The parents of the children had already been deported without them.

But in June 2019, under court order, the government eventually acknowledged that an additional 1,556 children had been separated from their families; 200 of them were under 5 years of age at the time they were taken into custody.

When that information came out, the search efforts started again but were made significantly more difficult by the amount of time that had passed between when the children were released from federal custody and when volunteer researchers began trying to find them. The effort hit another roadblock with the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, during which travel through the Central American countries where most of the families life has been severely restricted.

“The Trump administration had no plans to keep track of the families or ever reunite them, and so that’s why we’re in the situation we’re in now, to try to account for each family,” said Nan Schivone, legal director of the organization Justice in Motion, which is leading on-the-ground search efforts for separated families.

The American Civil Liberties Union, which is leading the court challenge to the family separation policy, said it had also been unable to find 362 of the children, many of whom are likely living in the United States, whose parents were deemed unreachable.

“The fact that they kept the names from the court, from us, from the public, was astounding,” said Lee Gelernt, lead attorney in the ACLU’s case over family separations. “We could have been searching for them this whole time.”

In some cases, members of the steering committee have had only names and countries of origin to go on in trying to locate separated parents. Even after conducting public record searches to identify the cities where the families were from, they faced additional hurdles. Many of the families had fled their homes because they were escaping violence or extortion and intentionally withheld information from friends and neighbours about where they were going.

Researchers are presuming that about two-thirds of the parents now being sought are back in their home countries.

As part of the legal case over family separations in the U.S. District Court in San Diego, overseen by Judge Dana Sabraw, the search efforts will continue, and the government will be required to provide information about any additional families that are separated at the border.

As of October 2019, the government had provided contact information for more than 1,100 additional parents who had been separated from their children but argued that it would not disclose information about some 400 of the parents because those individuals had criminal records that prevented the U.S. government from reuniting them with their children under Homeland Security Department policies.

Of the more than 1,100, the steering committee has been able to locate the parents of 485 additional separated children. The rest have not been found.

Radio spots are airing throughout Mexico and Central America. Court-appointed researchers are motorbiking through rural hillside communities in Guatemala and showing up at courthouses in Honduras to conduct public record searches.

Radio spots are airing throughout Mexico and Central America. Court-appointed researchers are motorbiking through rural hillside communities in Guatemala and showing up at courthouses in Honduras to conduct public record searches. Their efforts are part of a wide-ranging campaign to track down parents separated from their children at the U.S. border beginning in 2017 under the Trump administration’s most controversial immigration policy. It is now clear that the parents of 545 of the migrant children still have not been found, according to court documents filed this week in a case challenging the practice. About 60 of the children were under the age of 5 when they were separated, the documents show. Though attempts to find the separated parents have been going on for years, the number of parents who have been deemed “unreachable” is much larger than was previously known. Under court order, the government first provided an accounting of separated families in June of 2018, reporting that about 2,700 children had been taken from their parents after crossing into the United States. After months of searching by a court-appointed steering committee, which includes a private law firm and several immigrant advocacy organizations, all of those families were eventually tracked down and offered the opportunity to be reunited. But in January 2019, a report by the Health and Human Services Department's Office of the Inspector General confirmed that many more children had been separated, including under a previously undisclosed pilot program conducted in El Paso, Texas, between June and November 2017, before the administration’s widely publicized “zero tolerance” policy officially went into effect. Under that policy, the Trump administration directed prosecutors to file criminal charges against those who crossed the border without authorization, including parents, who were then separated from their children when they were taken into custody. Some parents who crossed the border at legal ports of entry were also among those separated from their children. The Trump administration fought for months against providing documentation on the additional families, arguing that it was not necessary because the children had already been released from federal custody into the care of sponsors, who are typically relatives or family friends. The parents of the children had already been deported without them. But in June 2019, under court order, the government eventually acknowledged that an additional 1,556 children had been separated from their families; 200 of them were under 5 years of age at the time they were taken into custody. When that information came out, the search efforts started again but were made significantly more difficult by the amount of time that had passed between when the children were released from federal custody and when volunteer researchers began trying to find them. The effort hit another roadblock with the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, during which travel through the Central American countries where most of the families life has been severely restricted. “The Trump administration had no plans to keep track of the families or ever reunite them, and so that’s why we’re in the situation we’re in now, to try to account for each family,” said Nan Schivone, legal director of the organization Justice in Motion, which is leading on-the-ground search efforts for separated families. The American Civil Liberties Union, which is leading the court challenge to the family separation policy, said it had also been unable to find 362 of the children, many of whom are likely living in the United States, whose parents were deemed unreachable. “The fact that they kept the names from the court, from us, from the public, was astounding,” said Lee Gelernt, lead attorney in the ACLU’s case over family separations. “We could have been searching for them this whole time.” In some cases, members of the steering committee have had only names and countries of origin to go on in trying to locate separated parents. Even after conducting public record searches to identify the cities where the families were from, they faced additional hurdles. Many of the families had fled their homes because they were escaping violence or extortion and intentionally withheld information from friends and neighbours about where they were going. Researchers are presuming that about two-thirds of the parents now being sought are back in their home countries. As part of the legal case over family separations in the U.S. District Court in San Diego, overseen by Judge Dana Sabraw, the search efforts will continue, and the government will be required to provide information about any additional families that are separated at the border. As of October 2019, the government had provided contact information for more than 1,100 additional parents who had been separated from their children but argued that it would not disclose information about some 400 of the parents because those individuals had criminal records that prevented the U.S. government from reuniting them with their children under Homeland Security Department policies. Of the more than 1,100, the steering committee has been able to locate the parents of 485 additional separated children. The rest have not been found.

Parents of 545 children separated at the border cannot be found

President Trump's frustration over his campaign to <a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/trump-climbs-down-in-wall-row-congress-passes-bill-ending-shutdown-192824">fence off the US-Mexican border</a> spilled into linguistic territory on Thursday when the president declared himself fed up with people dancing around what to call his dreamed-of barrier.

"Let's just call them WALLS from now on and stop playing political games! A WALL is a WALL!" Trump tweeted.

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
Lets just call them WALLS from now on and stop playing political games! A WALL is a WALL!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1090947003868213248?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 31, 2019</a></blockquote>
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In other tweets, he signalled that he's<a href="http://www.wionews.com/opinions/why-trumps-wall-rhetoric-is-about-power-rather-than-policy-193589"> in no mood to compromise</a>. "The Wall is getting done one way or the other!" he vowed.

He also said: "More troops being sent to the Southern Border to stop the attempted Invasion of Illegals.... With a Wall it would be soooo much easier and less expensive. Being Built!"

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
<div class="twitter-block" draggable="false">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
More troops being sent to the Southern Border to stop the attempted Invasion of Illegals, through large Caravans, into our Country. We have stopped the previous Caravans, and we will stop these also. With a Wall it would be soooo much easier and less expensive. Being Built!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1090986128805687296?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 31, 2019</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>
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&nbsp;

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
Very sadly, Murder cases in Mexico in 2018 rose 33% from 2017, to 33,341. This is a big contributor to the Humanitarian Crises taking place on our Southern Border and then spreading throughout our Country. Worse even than Afghanistan. Much caused by DRUGS. Wall is being built!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1090949309217075201?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 31, 2019</a></blockquote>
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The saga of Trump's troubled plan to boost defences along the Mexican border has seen politicians and the president manoeuvre repeatedly in search of the right terminology.

Originally, Trump revelled in the word "wall," leading chants at rallies of "build the wall!"

But as Democrats in Congress pushed back, accusing Trump of demonizing immigrants and promoting "medieval" wall technology, he tried to soften the message, referring to "a barrier."

Also, instead of a solid concrete structure, Trump began to emphasize that he was really asking for steel slats. "Artistically designed steel slats," he specified in December.

Despite the word games, Democrats remained steadfast in declining to back the president's signature project. This led to a standoff in which Trump refused to fully fund the government, shutting down swaths of federal jobs for five weeks.

Democrats and Republicans in Congress are now trying to come up with a border security compromise.&nbsp;

If they don't agree before a February 15 deadline, Trump says he'll impose another shutdown or bypass Congress by seeking emergency funds.

Yet another Trump tweet Thursday indicated that he might not be expecting Congress to deliver the goods on "the DESPERATELY needed WALL."

"I don't expect much help!" he said.

In an interview Wednesday with right-leaning website The Daily Caller, Trump made clear that declaring a national emergency at the border is very much on the cards.

"We declare a national emergency if this doesn’t work out," he said.

Democrats have said they would likely seek a court injunction to halt the use of emergency funds at the border, arguing that Trump has exaggerated the seriousness of the situation and that there is no emergency.

President Trump's frustration over his campaign to fence off the US-Mexican border spilled into linguistic territory on Thursday when the president declared himself fed up with people dancing around what to call his dreamed-of barrier.

President Trump's frustration over his campaign to fence off the US-Mexican border spilled into linguistic territory on Thursday when the president declared himself fed up with people dancing around what to call his dreamed-of barrier. "Let's just call them WALLS from now on and stop playing political games! A WALL is a WALL!" Trump tweeted. Lets just call them WALLS from now on and stop playing political games! A WALL is a WALL! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 31, 2019 × In other tweets, he signalled that he's in no mood to compromise. "The Wall is getting done one way or the other!" he vowed. He also said: "More troops being sent to the Southern Border to stop the attempted Invasion of Illegals.... With a Wall it would be soooo much easier and less expensive. Being Built!" More troops being sent to the Southern Border to stop the attempted Invasion of Illegals, through large Caravans, into our Country. We have stopped the previous Caravans, and we will stop these also. With a Wall it would be soooo much easier and less expensive. Being Built! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 31, 2019 × Very sadly, Murder cases in Mexico in 2018 rose 33% from 2017, to 33,341. This is a big contributor to the Humanitarian Crises taking place on our Southern Border and then spreading throughout our Country. Worse even than Afghanistan. Much caused by DRUGS. Wall is being built! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 31, 2019 × The saga of Trump's troubled plan to boost defences along the Mexican border has seen politicians and the president manoeuvre repeatedly in search of the right terminology. Originally, Trump revelled in the word "wall," leading chants at rallies of "build the wall!" But as Democrats in Congress pushed back, accusing Trump of demonizing immigrants and promoting "medieval" wall technology, he tried to soften the message, referring to "a barrier." Also, instead of a solid concrete structure, Trump began to emphasize that he was really asking for steel slats. "Artistically designed steel slats," he specified in December. Despite the word games, Democrats remained steadfast in declining to back the president's signature project. This led to a standoff in which Trump refused to fully fund the government, shutting down swaths of federal jobs for five weeks. Democrats and Republicans in Congress are now trying to come up with a border security compromise. If they don't agree before a February 15 deadline, Trump says he'll impose another shutdown or bypass Congress by seeking emergency funds. Yet another Trump tweet Thursday indicated that he might not be expecting Congress to deliver the goods on "the DESPERATELY needed WALL." "I don't expect much help!" he said. In an interview Wednesday with right-leaning website The Daily Caller, Trump made clear that declaring a national emergency at the border is very much on the cards. "We declare a national emergency if this doesn’t work out," he said. Democrats have said they would likely seek a court injunction to halt the use of emergency funds at the border, arguing that Trump has exaggerated the seriousness of the situation and that there is no emergency.

More troops being sent to the border to stop attempted invasion of illegals in large caravans: Trump

<a href="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.wionews.com/world/democratic-us-senator-gillibrand-to-launch-2020-white-house-bid-190624&amp;sa=U&amp;ved=0ahUKEwi8ivW1yoXgAhXXfH0KHSSzBKQQFggFMAA&amp;client=internal-uds-cse&amp;cx=006054055338965708568:09spwrlibei&amp;usg=AOvVaw3GlFqFZpl4hCtajNWSiIc9">Democratic</a> leaders in the House of Representatives floated the idea on Wednesday of ending a partial <a href="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.wionews.com/world/we-cant-pay-informants-fbi-on-us-government-shutdown-192096&amp;sa=U&amp;ved=0ahUKEwjerIHGyoXgAhXEiHAKHa15CZoQFggFMAA&amp;client=internal-uds-cse&amp;cx=006054055338965708568:09spwrlibei&amp;usg=AOvVaw1DGd83ynw1_zDN_TJqdubc">US government shutdown</a> by giving President Donald Trump most or all of the money he seeks for security along the Mexican border but for items other than the wall he wants.

As a shutdown that has left 800,000 federal workers without pay hit its 33rd day, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi essentially disinvited Trump from delivering the annual State of the Union address in the House chamber until the government is fully opened.

Other leaders in the Democratic-controlled House said they were drafting a funding offer they will likely make to Trump in a letter.&nbsp;

Representative James Clyburn, the No&nbsp;3 House Democrat, said Democrats could fulfil Trump's request for $5.7 billion for border security with technological tools such as drones, X-rays and sensors, as well as more border patrol agents.

Representative Steny Hoyer, the No&nbsp;2 House Democrat, said Democrats also would discuss "substantial sums of additional money" for border security as part of a possible deal. He did not say if it would amount to the $5.7 billion sought by Trump.

The Republican president triggered the shutdown last month by demanding money for the wall, opposed by Democrats, as part of any legislation to fund about a quarter of the government.

Clyburn's offer would be a significant monetary increase over bills previously passed by Democrats, which included only about $1.3 billion for this year in additional border security, with none for a wall.

"Using the figure the president put on the table, if his $5.7 billion is about border security then we see ourselves fulfilling that request, only doing it with what I like to call using a smart wall," Clyburn told reporters.

Republican Representative Tom Cole, a member of the House Appropriations Committee, told reporters the Democratic proposal could help.

"Any movement, any discussion is helpful," Cole said. "We've got to get past this wall-or-no-wall debate."

The battle over border security and government funding spilt over into a parallel dispute over the president's State of the Union address. Trump sent a letter to Pelosi on Wednesday saying he looked forward to delivering it as scheduled next Tuesday in the House chamber.&nbsp;

Pelosi previously had asked Trump to consider postponing it because security could not be guaranteed during the shutdown.

But Pelosi told Trump on Wednesday the House would not consider a measure authorizing his address until the shutdown ends. "Again, I look forward to welcoming you to the House on a mutually agreeable date for this address when the government has been opened," Pelosi said to Trump in a letter.

In a sign Trump may be bracing for a long shutdown, a senior administration official said agencies without funding had been asked to give the White House a list of programs that could be hurt "within the coming weeks" if the funding lapse continues.

SENATE PLANS VOTES

The US Senate, controlled by Trump's fellow Republicans, planned votes for Thursday on competing proposals that face steep odds to end the shutdown.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell plans a vote on a Democratic proposal that would fund the government for three weeks but does not include the $5.7 billion in partial funding for a wall on the US-Mexico border.

Its prospects appeared grim. The House has passed several similar bills but Trump has rejected legislation that does not include the wall funding. McConnell previously said he would not consider a bill that Trump did not support.

McConnell also planned to hold a vote on legislation that would include wall funding and a temporary extension of protections for "Dreamers," people brought illegally to the United States as children, an offer Trump made on Saturday.&nbsp;

Trump's 2017 plan to rescind protections against deportation for hundreds of thousands of "Dreamers" has been blocked by the courts.

Democrats have dismissed the offer, saying they would not negotiate on border security before reopening the government, and that they would not trade a temporary extension of the immigrants' protections in return for a permanent border wall they have called ineffective, costly and immoral.

Barclays economists said on Wednesday they reduced their outlook on US economic growth in the first quarter to an annualised rate of 2.5 per cent from an earlier projection of 3 per cent as a result of the shutdown.

Furloughed federal workers are struggling to make ends meet during the longest government shutdown in US history. Many have turned to unemployment assistance, food banks, and other support, or have sought new jobs.

Democratic leaders in the House of Representatives floated the idea on Wednesday of ending a partial US government shutdown by giving President Donald Trump most or all of the money he seeks for security along the Mexican border but for items other than the wall he wants.

Democratic leaders in the House of Representatives floated the idea on Wednesday of ending a partial US government shutdown by giving President Donald Trump most or all of the money he seeks for security along the Mexican border but for items other than the wall he wants. As a shutdown that has left 800,000 federal workers without pay hit its 33rd day, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi essentially disinvited Trump from delivering the annual State of the Union address in the House chamber until the government is fully opened. Other leaders in the Democratic-controlled House said they were drafting a funding offer they will likely make to Trump in a letter. Representative James Clyburn, the No 3 House Democrat, said Democrats could fulfil Trump's request for $5.7 billion for border security with technological tools such as drones, X-rays and sensors, as well as more border patrol agents. Representative Steny Hoyer, the No 2 House Democrat, said Democrats also would discuss "substantial sums of additional money" for border security as part of a possible deal. He did not say if it would amount to the $5.7 billion sought by Trump. The Republican president triggered the shutdown last month by demanding money for the wall, opposed by Democrats, as part of any legislation to fund about a quarter of the government. Clyburn's offer would be a significant monetary increase over bills previously passed by Democrats, which included only about $1.3 billion for this year in additional border security, with none for a wall. "Using the figure the president put on the table, if his $5.7 billion is about border security then we see ourselves fulfilling that request, only doing it with what I like to call using a smart wall," Clyburn told reporters. Republican Representative Tom Cole, a member of the House Appropriations Committee, told reporters the Democratic proposal could help. "Any movement, any discussion is helpful," Cole said. "We've got to get past this wall-or-no-wall debate." The battle over border security and government funding spilt over into a parallel dispute over the president's State of the Union address. Trump sent a letter to Pelosi on Wednesday saying he looked forward to delivering it as scheduled next Tuesday in the House chamber. Pelosi previously had asked Trump to consider postponing it because security could not be guaranteed during the shutdown. But Pelosi told Trump on Wednesday the House would not consider a measure authorizing his address until the shutdown ends. "Again, I look forward to welcoming you to the House on a mutually agreeable date for this address when the government has been opened," Pelosi said to Trump in a letter. In a sign Trump may be bracing for a long shutdown, a senior administration official said agencies without funding had been asked to give the White House a list of programs that could be hurt "within the coming weeks" if the funding lapse continues. SENATE PLANS VOTES The US Senate, controlled by Trump's fellow Republicans, planned votes for Thursday on competing proposals that face steep odds to end the shutdown. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell plans a vote on a Democratic proposal that would fund the government for three weeks but does not include the $5.7 billion in partial funding for a wall on the US-Mexico border. Its prospects appeared grim. The House has passed several similar bills but Trump has rejected legislation that does not include the wall funding. McConnell previously said he would not consider a bill that Trump did not support. McConnell also planned to hold a vote on legislation that would include wall funding and a temporary extension of protections for "Dreamers," people brought illegally to the United States as children, an offer Trump made on Saturday. Trump's 2017 plan to rescind protections against deportation for hundreds of thousands of "Dreamers" has been blocked by the courts. Democrats have dismissed the offer, saying they would not negotiate on border security before reopening the government, and that they would not trade a temporary extension of the immigrants' protections in return for a permanent border wall they have called ineffective, costly and immoral. Barclays economists said on Wednesday they reduced their outlook on US economic growth in the first quarter to an annualised rate of 2.5 per cent from an earlier projection of 3 per cent as a result of the shutdown. Furloughed federal workers are struggling to make ends meet during the longest government shutdown in US history. Many have turned to unemployment assistance, food banks, and other support, or have sought new jobs.

Democrats push technology as alternative to Trump wall in shutdown impasse

US govt shutdown hurting markets, no agreement in sight yet