US agencies split over fingerprinting*parents of child immigrants
 

WASHINGTON: US immigration enforcement ******rs are proposing that fingerprints be taken from all people claiming custody of children who have entered the United States illegally without an adult relative, a measure that opponents said could keep thousands of families apart.

As a new wave of unaccompanied Central American children pours across the US-Mexico border, the proposal underscores the sometimes conflicting goals of federal agencies in dealing with undocumented immigrants, a volatile issue on the presidential campaign trail.

Officials at the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), which is ultimately responsible for finding housing for migrant children, told Reuters they have ** plans to change fingerprinting policy.

They said the proposal -- made by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials in an internal memo seen by Reuters -- would delay family reunions and infringe upon the parent-child relationship.

"One of our goals is to place children with an appropriate sponsor as promptly as we can safely do so.

And so any delay for placing the child with their parent is time that we´re keeping a parent and child separated."

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