February 12, 2019

Separated illegal aliens sue U.S. government, demand $3 million each

Posted by D.A. King at 9:18 pm - Email the author   Print This Post Print This Post  

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Washington Times

By Stephen Dinan – The Washington Times
February 11, 2019

Separated illegal immigrant families sue U.S. government, demand $3 million each

Six illegal immigrant families filed multi-million dollar claims Monday against the Trump administration over last yearā€™s family separations, saying they need the money to pay for counseling and other medical care to heal from the ā€œtortureā€ they said they suffered.

The legal claims are the latest effort by immigrant-rights groups to punish the administration for the separations of thousands of children, which resulted from the Justice Departmentā€™s zero tolerance policy for illegal border crossers.

The families and their lawyers say the policy intended to inflict ā€œemotional distressā€ on the parents and children, hoping it would make attempting to sneak into the U.S. so uncomfortable that fewer people would attempt it.

ā€œIt succeeded with devastating consequences,ā€ said Mark Fleming, associate director of litigation at the National Immigration Justice Center.

Under the zero tolerance policy, the Justice Department began to file criminal charges against most illegal immigrants for illegal entry, a misdemeanor, or re-entry, a felony. The administration said the goal was to create some consequences for families who were breaking the law but generally had been released under the previous policies.

More here.