Federal officials have detained or deported at least 25 people whose families were granted temporary legal status under a court settlement.⁠
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Beginning in 2017 under President Donald Trump, thousands of immigrant children were traumatically separated from their parents at the border without cause nor a federal plan to reunite families. A federal judge later said that Trump’s policy caused “lasting, excruciating harm.” ⁠
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@aclu_nationwide filed a class action lawsuit, which the government settled in 2023, offering affected families legal status in the U.S., with pathways for residency, asylum and authorization to work.⁠
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Now, in Trump’s second term, the U.S. government has betrayed key terms of the deal. ⁠
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People who were supposed to be protected by the federal court settlement have been detained and deported, records show. The Department of Homeland Security informed families they suddenly had to pay a $1,000 fee per person to enter or to remain in the country. And the government stopped paying contractors it had hired to reunite families, and assist with job placement and legal paperwork.⁠
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✍️: Cary Aspinwall, with additional reporting contributed by Manuel Torres / The Marshall Project⁠
📷: Annie Flanagan (@annieflanagan) for The Marshall Project⁠
📱: Ashley Dye / The Marshall Project⁠