471 parents deported from US without their children

WASHINGTON: US authorities have deported 471 parents without their children, according to a court filing.

The revelation came on Wednesday in the ongoing family separation lawsuit, CNN reported.

President Donald Trump's administration has previously acknowledged that parents were removed without their children, but the latest report provides an updated count, which had been requested by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) to serve as a baseline to better track reunifications.

The ACLU filed the case against the administration last year on behalf of a Congolese woman, who was seeking asylum in the US and was separated from her seven-year-old daughter.

The case was later expanded to a class-action lawsuit.

District Judge Dana Sabraw issued a preliminary injunction last June blocking most family separations at the US-Mexico border and ordering that those already separated be reunited.

Wednesday's court filing notes that since the preliminary injunction was issued, the government has worked with a steering committee regarding the status of deported parents who have children remaining in federal care.

As of Monday, 2,741 of 2,816 children have been discharged from government care, up six since the February 20 status report.

Four children are "proceeding towards reunification or other appropriate discharge", according to the filing.