By ELLIOT SPAGAT
Associated Press

SAN DIEGO (AP) - A judge says it appears the Trump administration can identify potentially thousands of children who were separated from their families at the border in less time than the one to two years it wants.

U.S. District Judge Dana Sabraw said Tuesday that he was reluctant to impose deadlines and asked lawyers for the administration and American Civil Liberties Union try to reach a mutual agreement.

He scheduled a hearing April 24 with a U.S. Department of Health and Human Services official who spearheaded an earlier effort that reunited more than 2,700 children with their families.

The ACLU wants the job completed in three months.

A government watchdog estimates thousands of children may have been separated from July 2017 to June 2018.

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