Deported Parents Choosing Not to Be Reunited with Children, Holding Out Hope to Return to U.S.

When the American Civil Liberties Union on Tuesday submitted its most recent court filing on the status of children separated from their parents at the U.S. border, mainstream media focused on one number: 545, the number of kids whose parents still haven’t been located.

Democrat presidential nominee Joe Biden called it “criminal” during Thursday’s debate.

President Donald Trump mostly dodged a question about how the families will be reunited.

“We’re trying very hard,” he said, after first touting increased border security during his term.

But there’s a couple of numbers that have received significantly less attention in most news reports about the ACLU’s legal fight: 485, the number of children whose parents have been located, and 0, how many of those parents have sought to have their children returned home.