SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Bianey Reyes and others protest the separation of children from their parents in front of the El Paso Processing Center, an immigration detention facility, at the Mexican border on June 19, 2018 in El Paso, Texas. (Photo: Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
19 States and DC Sue Trump Over 'Cruel, Immoral, and Illegal' Plan to Detain Migrant Children Indefinitely
"We're taking the Trump administration to court to defend children from the irreparable harm caused by unlawful detention."
Aug 27, 2019
A coalition of state attorneys general on Monday filed suit against the Trump administration over a new rule that would allow the federal government to detain migrant families indefinitely.
"This new Trump rule callously puts at risk the safety and well-being of children. It undermines a decades-old agreement reached in court by the federal government to prevent the unlawful detention of immigrant children," said California AG Xavier Becerra, referring to the 1997 Flores settlement, which the White House is attempting to scrap.
"We're taking the Trump administration to court to protect children from the irreparable harm caused by unlawful and unnecessary detention," Becerra said. "With our partners across the country, we will fight for the most vulnerable among us."
The lawsuit (pdf) comes days after the Acting Homeland Security Secretary Kevin McAleenan unveiled the new regulation, which would terminate the current 20-day limit on detention of immigrant children.
As Common Dreams reported last week, the rule was met with horror by rights groups, which described it as a "cruel attack on children."
Massachusetts AG Maura Healey, who led the lawsuit alongside Becerra, echoed immigrant rights advocates' alarm at the new rule, which must be approved by a federal court before it can take effect.
"With this rule, the Trump administration is paving the way for ICE to imprison innocent children for indefinite periods of time and is attempting to take away the ability of states to stop them," Healey said in a statement. "This most recent attack on immigrant children is cruel, immoral, and illegal and we're suing to stop it."
Joining California and Massachusetts in the lawsuit are Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, and the District of Columbia.
The coalition of states warned the Trump administration's rule would "result in the vast expansion of family detention centers and lead to children being held in prolonged detention with significant long-term consequences to their health and well-being."
"Detention causes major trauma to children," said the states, "and can lead to long-term psychological harm."
We are at a crossroads
This country and this world are at a monumental crossroads. US voters have an opportunity to beat back the forces of fascism and confront the billionaires who are rigging the economy, our media system, and our democracy, making it increasingly impossible for ordinary people to get by. We’re not just talking about the election. We’re talking about what must be done once these fascist elements are vanquished from power. We need a bolder set of solutions than what either major party has so far been willing to offer and a working-class movement ready to fight like hell for it. Trump didn't emerge from nowhere. The conditions that fueled MAGA authoritarianism were created by decades of radical neoliberal economic policies and a corrupt political system dominated by corporate interests. They slashed taxes on the super-rich, promising that the benefits would trickle down. They said giveaways to the corporate titans would make life more affordable for the rest of us. It was all bullshit. And when a bitter, betrayed populace searches for someone to blame, right-wing demagogues have little trouble finding scapegoats. People know when they're being lied to, but you won't hear any of this from the corporate media. Only independent journalism—powered and funded by people who believe in building a better world—can deliver truly trustworthy daily news. If you share our vision, please contribute whatever you can to sustain our work. |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
A coalition of state attorneys general on Monday filed suit against the Trump administration over a new rule that would allow the federal government to detain migrant families indefinitely.
"This new Trump rule callously puts at risk the safety and well-being of children. It undermines a decades-old agreement reached in court by the federal government to prevent the unlawful detention of immigrant children," said California AG Xavier Becerra, referring to the 1997 Flores settlement, which the White House is attempting to scrap.
"We're taking the Trump administration to court to protect children from the irreparable harm caused by unlawful and unnecessary detention," Becerra said. "With our partners across the country, we will fight for the most vulnerable among us."
The lawsuit (pdf) comes days after the Acting Homeland Security Secretary Kevin McAleenan unveiled the new regulation, which would terminate the current 20-day limit on detention of immigrant children.
As Common Dreams reported last week, the rule was met with horror by rights groups, which described it as a "cruel attack on children."
Massachusetts AG Maura Healey, who led the lawsuit alongside Becerra, echoed immigrant rights advocates' alarm at the new rule, which must be approved by a federal court before it can take effect.
"With this rule, the Trump administration is paving the way for ICE to imprison innocent children for indefinite periods of time and is attempting to take away the ability of states to stop them," Healey said in a statement. "This most recent attack on immigrant children is cruel, immoral, and illegal and we're suing to stop it."
Joining California and Massachusetts in the lawsuit are Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, and the District of Columbia.
The coalition of states warned the Trump administration's rule would "result in the vast expansion of family detention centers and lead to children being held in prolonged detention with significant long-term consequences to their health and well-being."
"Detention causes major trauma to children," said the states, "and can lead to long-term psychological harm."
A coalition of state attorneys general on Monday filed suit against the Trump administration over a new rule that would allow the federal government to detain migrant families indefinitely.
"This new Trump rule callously puts at risk the safety and well-being of children. It undermines a decades-old agreement reached in court by the federal government to prevent the unlawful detention of immigrant children," said California AG Xavier Becerra, referring to the 1997 Flores settlement, which the White House is attempting to scrap.
"We're taking the Trump administration to court to protect children from the irreparable harm caused by unlawful and unnecessary detention," Becerra said. "With our partners across the country, we will fight for the most vulnerable among us."
The lawsuit (pdf) comes days after the Acting Homeland Security Secretary Kevin McAleenan unveiled the new regulation, which would terminate the current 20-day limit on detention of immigrant children.
As Common Dreams reported last week, the rule was met with horror by rights groups, which described it as a "cruel attack on children."
Massachusetts AG Maura Healey, who led the lawsuit alongside Becerra, echoed immigrant rights advocates' alarm at the new rule, which must be approved by a federal court before it can take effect.
"With this rule, the Trump administration is paving the way for ICE to imprison innocent children for indefinite periods of time and is attempting to take away the ability of states to stop them," Healey said in a statement. "This most recent attack on immigrant children is cruel, immoral, and illegal and we're suing to stop it."
Joining California and Massachusetts in the lawsuit are Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, and the District of Columbia.
The coalition of states warned the Trump administration's rule would "result in the vast expansion of family detention centers and lead to children being held in prolonged detention with significant long-term consequences to their health and well-being."
"Detention causes major trauma to children," said the states, "and can lead to long-term psychological harm."
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.
To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good.
News & Opinion
Trending
Common Dreams, Inc. Founded 1997. Registered 501(c3) Non-Profit
Privacy Policy