Attorneys unable to find parents of immigrant children

Rep. Raul Grijalva calls separation policy 'cruel and sinful'

YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA, KECY) - Court-appointed attorneys say they cannot find the parents of some 545 children separated from their parents at the U.S./Mexico border.

The children were parted from their parents between June 2017 and July 2018. That's when a federal judge in San Diego order the government to reunite the children in custody with their parents.

About two-thirds of the parents are believed to be in their countries of origin. Volunteers have been searching door-to-door for them in Guatemala and Honduras.

In an interview with KYMA.com Wednesday, Congressman Raúl Grijalva called family separations "a cruel and sinful policy."

"That is shameful, and it puts this country of ours in a bad light with the rest of the world.  It’s a humanitarian issue of huge proportions, and it’s at the feet of this administration.” said Grijalva.

In a statement released prior to our interview the Congressman wrote:

“These latest revelations should shake everyone in this nation to the very core. 545 children are effectively orphaned with the explicit consent and active participation of the Trump Administration. They were ripped from their parents’ arms, off-handedly placed in shelters, and left to wonder when, if ever, they would see their parents again. Due to the cruelty of Donald Trump and the xenophobia of Stephen Miller, we know that some of them may never see their parents again."

Rep. Raúl Grijalva, (D-Ariz.)

Grijalva went on to urge the White House to do everything in its power to reunite the children with their families. The Congressman also said those responsible for the separations should face consequences for their actions.

"Human rights abuses should never be the foundations of government policy.” he said.