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Keywords

plaintiffinjunctionmotiondue process
plaintiffdefendantprecedentmotionleasemotion to dismiss

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Ms. L v. Immigration and Customs Enforcement

Facts

In July 2017, the Trump Administration initiated a policy of separating migrant families at the border to deter illegal immigration, which led to the separation of thousands of parents and children. This policy was publicly announced in May 2018 as part of a 'zero tolerance' approach, resulting in many parents being prosecuted and separated from their children without a plan for reunification. Plaintiffs filed this case to challenge the broader family separation practices, arguing that they violated constitutional rights.

In July of 2017, the Trump Administration embarked on an unprecedented policy of separating migrant families at the border to deter immigration. The policy started quietly and was implemented by the Department of Homeland Security ('DHS') through Customs and Border Protection ('CBP') officials at border facilities in Texas.

Issue

The main legal issues include whether the government's practice of separating families at the border violates the right to family integrity and what standards should govern such separations.

The focus of Plaintiffs' Complaint was not the zero tolerance policy, but rather a broader family separation practice that was being applied to families crossing into the United States both legally at designated ports of entry and illegally between ports of entry.

Rule

The court applied the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment, which protects the right to family integrity, and established that parents could only be separated from their children if they were deemed unfit or posed a danger to their children.

As stated in the Court's order denying Defendants' motion to dismiss, 'it has long been settled that the liberty interest identified in the Fifth Amendment provides a right to family integrity or to familial association.'

Analysis

The court analyzed the government's separation practices in light of the established legal standards, finding that the Administration's actions often did not meet the criteria set forth in the preliminary injunction. The court emphasized that the government must provide clear evidence of unfitness or danger before separating families, and that subjective concerns about parentage or minor criminal histories were insufficient grounds for separation.

The Court has determined those factors include parentage, criminal history and communicable disease, in addition to fitness and danger.

Conclusion

The court granted in part and denied in part the plaintiffs' motion to enforce the preliminary injunction, reaffirming the need for strict adherence to the standards for family separations and emphasizing the importance of family integrity.

The Court finds Defendants are generally exercising their discretion to separate families at the border consistent with Plaintiffs' rights to family integrity and the Court's orders, with one exception regarding DNA testing and one clarification regarding separations based on family residential center standards.

Who won?

The plaintiffs prevailed in part, as the court upheld the injunction requiring the government to reunify families and set clear standards for future separations, thereby reinforcing the constitutional right to family integrity.

The Court granted Plaintiffs' motion to modify the class definition to include those parents who had been separated from their children at the border beginning on July 1, 2017, and whose children were released from ORR custody prior to June 26, 2018.

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