SAN DIEGO (AP) — In a significant legal ruling, a judge determined that the federal government must return three families who had been adversely affected by the Trump administration’s policy of separating parents from their children at the U.S.-Mexico border. The ruling emphasized that the deportations of these families in recent months were based on "lies, deception, and coercion."
The order, issued on Thursday, highlighted that the deported families should have been permitted to stay in the United States under the terms of a legal settlement concerning the separation of approximately 6,000 children from their parents in 2018. Each mother involved in the case had received humanitarian parole allowing them to remain in the U.S. until 2027.
U.S. District Judge Dana Sabraw, presiding in San Diego, mandated that the government also cover the travel costs for the families' return. One of the women, whose name remains undisclosed, along with her three children, including a 6-year-old U.S. citizen, was forcibly deported to Honduras in July. This deportation followed multiple attempts to check in with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) over a span of two months, a situation that led to her losing her job.
Judge Sabraw dismissed the government’s assertion that the family departed the U.S. voluntarily. The woman recounted in court documents that ICE officials visited her home and pressured her to sign a document agreeing to leave the U.S., a request she refused. She described a traumatic experience where ICE officers took her and her children to a motel, removed her ankle monitor, detained them for three days, and then forcibly returned them to Honduras.
The other two families affected by this ruling were identified only by initials and shared similar experiences of coercion and deception. Judge Sabraw stated, "Each of the removals was unlawful, and absent the removals, these families would still be in the United States and have access to the benefits and resources they are entitled to."
Lee Gelernt, an attorney representing the families from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), praised the judge's decision. He emphasized that the Trump administration has not acknowledged the illegality and the cruelty of the family separation policy and that it had begun re-deporting and re-separating the families. Gelernt remarked, "The Court put its foot down and not only ordered the families' return but did so at government expense."
As of Friday, the Homeland Security and Justice Departments had not responded to requests for comments regarding the ruling. The context of this case relates to the controversial "zero-tolerance" policy enacted under the Trump administration, which mandated the separation of parents from their children for criminal prosecution when they crossed the border illegally. In June 2018, Judge Sabraw ordered an end to the separations just days after Trump himself halted the policy amidst widespread international criticism. The subsequent settlement prohibits any such family separation policy until 2031.
The case reflects the ongoing legal and ethical challenges posed by immigration policies in the United States, especially those targeting vulnerable families seeking asylum or refuge. The repercussions of the Trump administration's policies continue to reverberate through the lives of many families, underscoring the need for a reevaluation of immigration practices.
