In Sabraw’s court, lawyers from the Justice Department acted overwhelmed by the task of finding all the separated families under a tight deadline. Behind the scenes, however, officers at ICE were trying to pick off parents before the judge could force the government to reunite them with their children. Keldy had a choice, the deportation officer said, leading her down the page. Because she had lost her asylum case, she had an order of removal against her. She could either be deported with her children—or alone.
