Today the government submitted a new plan to locate the hundreds of parents whom it deported without their kids. We've negotiated with them on several fronts, but a huge issue remains 👇
The government is arguing that deported parents and children can only be reunited in their countries of origin.
This means that parents won't be able to resume asylum claims and children may have to forfeit theirs.
This is especially troubling as parents may have been misled or coerced into waiving asylum rights, believing that it would bring back their children faster.
No parent should lose their right to seek protection from persecution, torture, or death because they were forced to choose between getting their child back or pursuing an asylum case.
Children should not be left to navigate the US asylum system alone, bearing the weight of continued separation, because the government unlawfully deported their parents and doesn't want to bring them back.
One thing remains clear: These families should never have been separated in the first place, but the government did it anyway.
Rape is the most under-reported crime. 63% of sexual assaults are not reported to police. Only 12% of child sexual abuse is reported to the authorities.
Survivors of sexual assault don’t report because they fear law enforcement will dismiss their claims. aclu.org/blog/womens-ri…
Donald Trump is the same president who, as a candidate, told supporters he would “open up our libel laws” to sue journalists. In fact, he promised: “We’re going to have people sue you like you’ve never got sued before.” politico.com/blogs/on-media…
Donald Trump is also the same president who, as a candidate, blacklisted reporters and entire news outlets from campaign events, referred to journalists as scum and slime, and mocked a reporter’s disability. cnn.com/2016/05/31/pol…
BREAKING: In challenge to Sessions' policy of denying asylum protection to immigrants fleeing domestic violence and gang brutality, the judge blocked the government from deporting our clients as he considers the case.
However, disturbing news came to light during the hearing.
While in court, we found out that the government had deported a client and her young child just hours before, putting their lives at risk.
This directly contradicts the government's commitment to the court that NO ONE would be removed until tomorrow at the earliest.
The judge ordered the government to turn the plane around and bring the asylum-seeking mother and child back to the US.
He said that if the situation wasn't fixed he would consider contempt proceedings — starting with the attorney general.
The House Committee on Appropriations just advanced a bill today that would increase the DHS’s budget for next year to a total of $51.4 billion, including $5 billion for Trump’s border wall.
If adopted by Congress, this would increase the budget for ICE and CBP — the agencies responsible for family separation and the mass detention and deportation of immigrants.
Today Reps decided that their priority is to continue funding the administration’s war on immigrants using taxpayer dollars to tear families apart, terrorize immigrant communities, and further militarize our border with an ineffective and harmful wall.
🚨 Update on our family separation case:
The Trump administration failed to meet the deadline to reunite all kids under 5. We’ve asked the court for specific remedies to ensure this does not happen again.
The administration claims to have reunited 58 children as of today. The government said they would give us notice of a time and place for each reunification so that we could arrange for nonprofits to be onsite to help families and verify reunifications.
That didn't happen.
Not only did the government fail to give notice, we heard reports of troubling situations, including ICE leaving a parent and kids, one of whom is 6 months old, alone at a bus stop.
The government's lack of communication caused hardship for families who have been through enough.
BREAKING: US district court blocks Trump policy of arbitrary detention of asylum seekers fleeing persecution, torture, or death.
Judge orders case-by-case review of whether each asylum seeker in our class action lawsuit should be released on humanitarian parole.
Today’s ruling means the Trump administration cannot use indefinite detention as a weapon to punish and deter asylum seekers.
It is a rejection of the blanket policy of locking up those seeking protection in this country.
DHS’ own policy says that asylum seekers should be granted humanitarian parole while awaiting immigration proceedings, as long as they meet a series of strict requirements.
Instead, the Trump administration has been categorically jailing people — indefinitely.