Two More Brazilian Children Are Reunited With Their Parents
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Just under the wire.
The U.S. government reunited two more Brazilian children held in Chicago with their fathers. Their families were separated at the U.S. border.
Their attorneys say it went down within hours of a court deadline.
CBS 2's Roseanne Tellez has the story.
These reunions unfolded a lot differently than the mother and son reunions we've seen recently. That's because the fathers were in government custody when a judge ordered the reunifications.
Lawyers said the 16-year-old Brazilian boy in a Chicago court Wednesday was flown to El Paso, reunited with his father at an ICE facility, then released.
His dad wearing an ankle bracelet as his asylum request moves forward.
"They are in a half-way house-shelter in El Paso," said the teen's attorney Tom Yardley. "And they will be flown on Friday to their sponsors who are on the east coast of the United States."
But it was another story for the nine-year-old from Brazil. His dad was flown to Chicago, reunited with his son at an ICE facility, then sent to family detention.
They'll be held at Berks County Residential Center in Philadelphia. But attorneys said that's a violation of federal law.
"So he's being held having never been charged with any crime," said Yardley. "And he's been held now for something like 48 days and it appears that he'll continue to be held."
But the attorneys are pleased that at least father and son are together again.
"Judge Chang's order said the separation actually shocks the conscious, and it does," said Amy Rubenstein, the child's attorney. "So we are hopeful that they are together right now trying to cure some of the trauma of their 48 days apart."
So why is one family still is being held?
Asylum seekers must demonstrate that they are in danger in their homeland.
CBS 2 is told that the nine-year-old's father failed that test.
But he does have one more review and they believe an ankle monitor would be sufficient.