Articles Tagged with human rights

In a status update filed Monday, the federal government informed the court that has ordered it to reunite over 2,500 separated children with their parents by July 26 in a class action filed by the ACLU seeking reunification of separated immigrant families, that over 460 parents of separated children over the age of 5 may have already been deported without their children. The government has continued to state that any parent who has left the country had the opportunity to bring their child with them, but advocacy groups question whether parents deported under those circumstances understood their options.

In its pending class action on behalf of separated immigrant families, the ACLU has filed a proposal that would require the Trump administration to reunify the families it has separated under its "zero tolerance" immigration enforcement policy within a month. The proposal would also require reunification within 10 days for children younger than 5; phone contact between parents and children within 7 days; a halt on separations unless there is clear evidence of danger to the child; and a prohibition on deporting parents without their children unless the parent knowingly and voluntarily waives the right to reunification before deportation.

The zero tolerance immigration policy that has led to separating refugee parents from children at the U.S.-Mexico border faces its first legal challenge from a Guatemalan asylee.

A group of large law firms and non-profits have created a nationwide coalition aimed at reuniting immigrant families separated under the Trump administration's "zero tolerance" policy. The coalition's effort has been named Project Corazon, and it will establish a system for parents to confidentially seek legal support in learning the whereabouts of their children. It is estimated that over 2,300 children have been taken from their parents since the administration's policy was implemented this spring.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has released a report detailing widespread and severe alleged abuse of immigrant children by U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) agents between 2009 and 2014. Among 30,000 pages of documents obtained in an open records lawsuit are details of minors reportedly being beaten, threatened, sexually abused, and denied food and medical care by border agents.

The now-notorious Harvey Weinstein faces yet another challenge as New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman has filed a lawsuit against him and his company alleging violations of New York civil rights, human rights, and business laws.