18 attorneys general sue Trump administration over family separations

On Tuesday, 18 attorneys general joined together to file a lawsuit against the Trump administration's separation of undocumented migrant children from their parents at the border, with New York Attorney General Barbara Underwood's office calling the practice "irrationally discriminatory" because it "targets only people crossing our southwestern border, the majority of whom are from Latin America, and not anyone crossing the northern border or entering the United States elsewhere."

The Trump administration enacted a "zero tolerance" policy that in recent weeks resulted in at least 2,300 kids being separated from their parents, and the lawsuit argues the administration "violated the constitutional due process rights of the parents and children by separating them as a matter of course and without any finding that the parent poses a threat to the children." Last week, Trump signed an executive order that he said stopped the separations, but the order does not say the policy of prosecuting undocumented adults is over.

The participating attorneys general, all Democrats, are from California, Delaware, District of Columbia, Illinois, Iowa, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, and Washington. The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington.

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up