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UPDATE: July 14, 2018, 3:33 p.m. PDT Families Belong Together has raised over $37,000 as of Saturday and upped its goal to $50,000.

The coalition that organized last month’s Families Belong Together marchjust launched a new fundraisercalled Flights for Families. The program will help pay for the travel expenses of detained migrant parents asked by the government to cover the costsof reuniting with their children.

In the hours after the fundraiser launched Friday morning, the group raised $3,500 from over 50 individual donors. The goal is to raise $25,000.

The Families Belong Together coalition says the Trump administration is forcing families to travel long distances at their own cost. The expenses can exceed $3,000. Additionally, detained parents who want to reunite with their children are being told to pay for the cost of DNA testing.

“Cost should not come between parents being reunited with their children,” tweeted Jess Morales Rocketto, chair of Families Belong Together.

Tweet may have been deleted

The administration failed this week to meet a court deadline to reunify all children under age 5. The deadline to reunify older children is July 26th.

Money raised will help pay for family reunification expenses, including transportation, lodging, and a small personal kit. Families Belong Together estimates that travel costs will run $3,000 to $5,000 per reunification.

Additionally, the organization is paying for volunteers to accompany families on their flight for support. Funds that cannot be used for travel will be spent on other efforts to help reunify families immediately.

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