Marianita’s parents say they have provided the U.S. with mountains of documents to have their daughter sent back to Honduras and reunited with her family, including her 3-year-old brother, Jadiel (pictured here). Still, it’s not clear when they will all be together again. 
We will keep following their story. Here’s my reporting from last night’s @NewsHour: pbs.org/newshour/show/…
An amazing update to my story on the Honduran dad who was deported without his daughter: Marianita, 6, was finally reunited with her dad, Misael, moments ago in Honduras. The little girl quietly smiled as her father wept. Watch this video of their emotional reunion. Story to come
Efren Olivares, a lawyer with the @TXCivilRights, which helped Misael get his daughter home, said he believes lawyers pushing for Marianita’s release as well as the public learning about the family’s situation through the PBS NewsHour on Tuesday sped up their reunion.
Here's the full story on Misael and Marianita's reunion: pbs.org/newshour/natio…
The American Civil Liberties Union, which has filed a federal lawsuit against the Trump administration to have all separated families reunited, said nothing legally changed this week that would have led to Marianita being released quickly.
“The government has always had the ability to reunite children with deported parents where the family wanted that outcome,” said Lee Gelernt, deputy director of the ACLU’s Immigrants’ Rights Project and the lead lawyer on the case.
On Friday, Marianita quietly smiled as she arrived at the airport in San Pedro Sula, Honduras. Her father acknowledged that there is a long road of healing ahead, but said he was grateful to finally have his daughter back in his arms. “I feel happy and nervous,” Misael tells me.
REMINDER: Hundreds of other deported parents haven't been reunited w/ their kids & it is unclear how quickly reunifications abroad may happen. Many parents were flown back to capital cities in Central America & they returned to rural villages, where they are often hard to reach.
The Trump administration has deported more than 400 parents to their home countries without their children. To date, according to the latest status update Thursday, only 26 children from this group have been reunited.
