TEXAS – The court-ordered deadline has arrived for the Trump administration to reunite families separated during the short-lived “zero-tolerance” immigration policy.

Late last month, U.S. District Court Judge Dana Sabraw told immigration officials to coordinate a family reunification plan. In court on Monday, lawyers representing the Trump administration told a judge just over half of the families will be back together by Tuesday’s deadline.

Of the 102 young children now identified by the government, only 54 of them will be reunited with their parents. The deadline is for children under the age of 5 years old.

According to the Associated Press, President Donald Trump said on Tuesday: "That's the solution. Don't come to our country illegally. Come like other people do. Come legally."

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said “under 3,000 children” remain separated from their parents. In many cases parents and children were charged criminally for undocumented entry. Many of those charges have since been dropped.

Following national and international outcry over children being kept in cages and separated from parents, the American Civil Liberties Union sued the federal government, demanding families to be reunified. Sabraw agreed with the outrage and issued reunification deadlines.

Although the Trump administration is falling short of Tuesday’ deadline, ACLU lawyers believe Sabraw is pleased with the government's efforts so far.

"I think now he feels like the government is working in good faith finally, working to get this unification done,” ACLU’s Immigrants’ Rights Project Deputy Director Lee Gelernt said. “We are hoping that's right."

Government officials said they are working to track down dozens of parents who are no longer in custody. Nineteen of those parents have already been deported.

San Antonio-based immigrant advocate group RAICES have lawyers in Washington D.C., working to reunify families.

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