Court orders Trump regime to release its child hostage

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A federal judge has ordered the immediate reunification of an asylum-seeking father and his two-year old son, who have been separated for nearly six months under Donald Trump’s family separation policy.

“It’s the most cruel of all cruelties to separate a child from his father when there is no basis,” said New York southern district judge Alvin Hellerstein at a hearing on Monday afternoon.

The father, known as Mr C, was released from detention last week after crossing the border around 30 April. His son, who has spent a quarter of his life in US government custody, was being held in the Bronx, New York City...

Earlier this year, the Trump administration separated more than 2,600 children from their parents at the border under its zero-tolerance policy, which made family separations possible until Trump signed an executive order ending that practice in June. Several lawsuits ordering reunifications are being fought across the US.

Mr C said the pair fled Honduras because the gang MS-13 threatened to kill him and his son, and had already killed members of his extended family. He crossed the border with a notarized letter from the boy’s mother approving her son’s travel...

During the hearing, it emerged that the child’s court-appointed guardian and the government had different explanations for where the child spent his days. Mr C’s attorneys said the guardian had told them the child was in a health department child facility during the day and with a foster family on nights and weekends. The government said the child was always with the foster family.

The Trump administration, however, is looking to revive family separation, according to the Washington Post, which said last week that the US government is weighing alternatives including a “binary choice” plan that would give parents option to separate voluntarily or be detained together for years.