A federal judge in the U.S set out several deadlines for migrant families who were separated to be reunited.

What he declared was that by July 6th, every parent must have a way to contact their child. By July 10th, every child under the age of 5 must be reunited with their parents, and by July 26 children up until the age of 17 must be reunited with their parents as well.

According to sources, the U.S Health and Human Services will be using DNA testing to speed up these processes.

It has been reported that around 3,000 migrant children are currently separated from their families. Generally birth records are used to match up children with their rightful parents, however this process is longer than what the court has ordered, and is not always entirely accurate.

DNA testing would only require a quick cheek swab and would ensure proper reunification to parents.  Despite many people protesting migrant children being separated from their families, not everyone is in fact in favor of using DNA testing, with concerns that it means collecting data from young children who are too young to really consent.

It would mean that they could be followed throughout their entire lives, and can be seen as an invasion of personal information and privacy.

For now, nothing has been decided, but the deadlines must be met some way or another.