An Associated Press investigation has found that the Trump administration has re-separated dozens of children from their families despite a landmark legal settlement designed to prevent such actions. The separations have occurred as the administration pursues mass deportation operations, with some parents detained for months while others have been deported to their home countries.

The case of 11-year-old Ederson Galicia Alva illustrates the pattern. First separated from his mother at age 3 under the original Trump administration's family separation policy in 2018, Ederson was reunited after lawyers intervened. However, in June 2024, he and his mother Mirsy Maricela Alva López were separated again when she was detained during immigration enforcement operations near Mar-a-Lago in Florida and subsequently deported to Guatemala.

The family spent 11 months in Guatemala's indigenous highlands before being allowed to return to Florida last week following a federal judge's order that the government had acted illegally. Upon arrival at Miami airport, immigration officials again questioned Alva López and granted her only two weeks of humanitarian parole, leaving the family's long-term status uncertain.

The original family separation policy began in late 2017 and was halted in 2018 after a federal judge ruled it caused "lasting, excruciating harm." The American Civil Liberties Union's class action lawsuit, Ms. L v. U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement, resulted in a 2023 settlement agreement that provided special legal protections for separated families, including pathways to asylum and work permits.

According to ACLU data, more than 11,800 people are covered under the settlement, including separated parents, children and close relatives. However, emails obtained by AP show that immigration officials have deported some protected individuals even after being informed they were legally off limits for removal.

Department of Homeland Security acting Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis defended the government's actions, stating that "DHS complies with all court orders" and that enforcing immigration law is "not optional." Government attorneys have argued in court filings that there are no legal restrictions on executing removal orders.

Several deadlines affecting separated families are approaching, including the expiration of asylum application rights in December and the end of a legal services contract in August. Attorneys say many families have become increasingly fearful about completing government paperwork as deportation operations have intensified.