Judge calls U.S. efforts to reunite deported parents 'unacceptable'

FILE PHOTO: Alejandra Juarez walks with her two daughters, Pamela, 16, and Estela, 9, and her husband, former U.S. Marine Temo Juarez, all U.S. citizens, to the departure gates at Orlando International Airport for her deportation flight to Mexico, in Orlando, Florida, U.S., August 3, 2018. REUTERS/Joey Roulette

(Reuters) - A federal judge on Friday described as "unacceptable" the U.S. government's progress in reuniting immigrant children in the United States with deported parents and ordered the government to appoint a person to take charge of its efforts.

"This is going to be a significant undertaking and it's clear there has to be one person in charge," said U.S. District Judge Dana Sabraw at a hearing in San Diego.