On September 19, 2019, five asylum-seeking parents, on their own behalf and on behalf of their minor children, filed this lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona. The plaintiffs sued the United States under the Federal Tort Claims Act. The plaintiffs, represented by private counsel, the National Immigrant Justice Center, and the American Immigration Council, sought monetary relief and attorneys fees. The plaintiffs alleged the intentional infliction of emotional distress by the United States government through its child-separation policy. The government separated the asylum-seeking parents from their children, delayed providing parents and children information of each other’s whereabouts and well-being, failed to facilitate adequate communication between the parents and their children while separated, and failed to implement a system to ensure families could be reunited. The government did this deliberately, plaintiffs alleged, to deter other parents with children from seeking asylum in the United States.

This case is ongoing.

Ashton Dubey - 11/01/2019


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