Lawyers who are trying to reunite children separated from their parents before and during the Trump administration's "zero tolerance" policy say there are at least 100 more such cases than they were previously made aware of, NBC News reports.
The number of children now believed separated is 666, lawyers told a federal judge in October. That's up from the 545 they previously believed.
The lawyer leading the effort, Steven Herzog, told NBC, that the number has increased because the new group includes those "for whom the government did not provide any phone number."
Herzog sent an email to Justice Department attorneys saying, "we would appreciate the government providing any available updated contact information, or other information that may be helpful in establishing contact for all 666 of these parents."
Nearly 20% were under the age of 5 when they were separated, NBC reported, citing a source familiar with the data.
The "zero tolerance" policy along the entire U.S./Mexico border took place between April and June 2018. Before that a test was conducted along the El Paso sector. Most of the children involved in the current case were separated from the parents during the test period, NBC reported.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.