At least 38 migrant families are suing the U.S. government over alleged abuse in federally funded foster homes

A bad situation just keeps getting worse.

Several families of migrant children are filing lawsuits claiming the U.S. government failed to protect their children from sexual, physical and emotional abuse in federally funded foster homes.

Some migrant children who were separated from their families at the border were placed in foster care while officials determined how to proceed with asylum claims or placed the adults in detention centers that were sometimes far away from the foster homes. At least 38 lawsuits say that children were harmed while in government custody, reports The Associated Press.

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

The Trump administration's "zero-tolerance" policy led to thousands of family separations at the border, and several nonprofit groups and U.S. law firms are working with migrants who want to sue the government over alleged wrongdoing that resulted. The Office of Refugee Resettlement opted to place some children in foster programs, but new allegations raise questions about how well some foster care facilities are vetted, says AP. "How is it possible that my son was suffering these things?" said the father of one boy who says he was repeatedly sexually molested in a foster home after being separated at the border at age 7.

The government hasn't settled any of these claims, and the Department of Justice didn't comment on AP's story outlining the allegations. "We may never know the extent to which children suffered particular abuses in foster homes," said Michelle Lapointe, a senior supervising attorney with the Southern Poverty Law Center. Parents of migrant children who were in government custody describe lasting emotional trauma and say their children remain fearful when recalling their time in foster care. "It's the tip of the iceberg," said Erik Walsh, an attorney at Arnold & Porter, which has represented some families in suing the government.

A Health and Human Services spokesman said "We treat the children in our care with dignity and respect." Read more at The Associated Press.