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Calling the Trump administration’s official policy of tearing kids from the arms of immigrant parents at the U.S./Mexico border “brutal” and “offensive,” U.S. District Judge Dana Sabraw rejected the federal government’s request to dismiss a lawsuit launched by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) on behalf of separated families:
Sabraw said the ACLU’s claims are particularly troubling because the plaintiffs in the case had allegedly come to the U.S. seeking asylum out of fear for their well-being in their home countries. The suit applies to migrants who formally present themselves at ports of entry as political refugees as well as those who seek asylum after they are apprehended during illegal border crossings.
Individuals who present themselves at U.S. ports of entry to petition for asylum are following U.S. law, and because the Trump administration can’t change this without Congress, is using kidnapping as a way to scare off other families fleeing violence and political persecution. According to Bloomberg, “the ACLU’s request for an order halting the practice while the case proceeds is pending. The group also wants families reunited pending the outcome of the case”:
The ACLU alleges that its two lead plaintiffs, women identified as “Ms. L" from the Democratic Republic of the Congo and “Ms. C" from Brazil, along with hundreds of other migrants, have suffered “wrenching separations" from their children for no legitimate purpose.
“Ms. C,” who later stepped forward as Jocelyn following her release, hasn’t seen her 16-year-old son since August of last year. The boy, according to his mom, is now taking medication to deal with this trauma. “These allegations sufficiently describe government conduct that arbitrarily tears at the sacred bond between parent and child," Judge Sabraw wrote. The administration’s action “is brutal, offensive, and fails to comport with traditional notions of fair play and decency.”
