Biden agrees to settle ACLU lawsuit over Trump-era migrant family separations

WASHINGTON — Government policies that cause widespread separation of migrant children from their parents would be banned under a proposed legal settlement filed Monday by the Biden administration and the American Civil Liberties Union.

If approved by a judge, the settlement, filed after three years of negotiation in federal court for the Southern District of California, would prevent the federal government from using prosecutions of adults who enter the U.S. illegally to separate them from their children.

Under former President Donald Trump’s “zero tolerance” policy, the government regularly prosecuted and jailed migrant parents who crossed the border without authorization, including asylum seekers. That took place despite U.S. and international law mandating the right to seek asylum regardless of how someone arrived on U.S. soil.

Because children couldn’t go to jail with their parents while their parents awaited trial, federal officials placed the children in federal custody or with foster families. From May 5 to June 20, 2018, more than 3,000 children were forcibly separated from their parents, many of whom were ultimately deported.

“Today’s agreement reflects the Biden-Harris administration’s unwavering commitment to reunify families who suffered because of the prior administration’s cruel and inhumane policy, and our steadfast adherence to our nation’s most dearly held values,” said Alejandro Mayorkas, secretary of the Department of Homeland Security. “The Department of Homeland Security has taken steps to ensure that the prior practice of separating families does not happen again, and we are continuing the work of reuniting children with their parents.”

The ACLU said that under the proposed settlement, people who were separated from their families would qualify for lawful entry and three-year, renewable work permits, and certain housing, health and legal services benefits. They would be able to apply for asylum, regardless of previous denials, and wouldn’t be subject to the usual one-year application deadline.

Future separations would be allowed only in cases of abuse, national security threats, medical emergencies or if the parent has committed serious crimes, according to the Department of Justice. Separations would also have to be documented in a database shared among government agencies, and family members’ attorneys would have to be notified quickly and allowed to challenge the separations, the ACLU said.

Monday’s agreement expands the number of people covered by the lawsuit — currently about 3,900 children — by at least 500 to cover the entire four years of the Trump administration, according to the ACLU.

Also included are adults who can prove they were the child’s legal guardian, as well as non-citizen parents who were separated from their U.S. citizen children.