Judge Orders Brazilian Held In IL Boys Reunited With Fathers

CHICAGO, IL — A federal judge said two Brazilian boys have been subjected to "obvious and intense" harm after being separated from their fathers and held in Chicago for more than six weeks, according to a report by the Chicago Sun-Times. U.S. District Judge Edmond Chang has ordered the pair reunited with their fathers within 72 hours — by Thursday afternoon. Chang said he had no authority to order the fathers released from the custody of immigration authorities, so it's unclear whether the reunification will happen, according to the report.

Both boys, ages 9 and 16, came to the United States with their fathers and tried to enter the country legally, seeking asylum. They were turned away by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents at the New Mexico border. The fathers remain in custody in New Mexico.

The 16-year-old and his father were fleeing a drug trafficker who threatened to kill them, according to the Sun-Times. The father of the 9-year-old was threatened by a loan shark, the newspaper reported.

Chang said one boy told his father during a short phone call that he's never going to see him again, and the other boy is suffering from "severe anxiety and depression," according to the report.

The boys have been held in a Heartland Alliance shelter with dozens of other immigrant children who were separated from their families at the border.

A federal judge in San Diego ordered all separated immigrant children under age 5 to be reunited with their parents by Tuesday, but only around a third of them have been reunited. More than 2,000 older children must be reunited with their families by the end of the month.

Chang has scheduled a hearing Wednesday to get an update on the boys' status. It's unclear how they will be reunited with their fathers: whether they will be placed in family detention, released or deported.

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