ACLU Sues Trump Admin For Detaining Migrant Kids In Hotels During Pandemic

UPDATE: On Sept. 8, 2020, the Department of Homeland Security hit back against a class action lawsuit challenging their treatment of migrant children during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The American Civil Liberties Union has filed a class action lawsuit against the Trump Administration, saying it has denied migrant children their rightful legal proceedings by detaining them for multiple days in hotel rooms and then deporting them. Such was the case for one 16-year-old Guatemalan boy, alleges the ACLU.

In this migrant kids class action lawsuit, the American Civil Liberties Union represents a 16-year-old Guatemalan boy who fled to the United States by himself to escape what the detention policy lawsuit calls “severe persecution” in Guatemala. His father, Mario Escobar Francisco, is suing on his behalf. Allegedly, the teen was apprehended by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and was then held in a hotel room. He allegedly is still in custody in Texas.

Providing context for the teen’s choice to leave Guatemala and come to the United States, the ACLU’s detention policy class action lawsuit explains that in countries including El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala, and Mexico, gangs control “large swaths,” of the nation and often target children, posing a danger to their safety.

This has reportedly led to many children from these countries to flee from their homes to try to come to the United States in the hopes of finding safety. However, the ACLU says that they are often met with inhumane immigration policies, and are often deported back to their countries, putting their safety at severe risk.

According to the migrant kids detained class action lawsuit, the boy should have been sent to a children’s facility to receive care and shelter until he could be reunited with his father, who was in the United States, or reunited with a “suitable sponsor.” Allegedly, he was entitled to a range of procedural protections including a “full hearing, and appeals, to determine his right to remain in the United States with his father.” However, the ACLU argues that he was denied these rights, and was instead subjected to wrongful detention through a Trump Administration process.

The ACLU explains that the teen was detained and held in the hotel room as part of the Title 42 process, an immigration process implemented by the Trump Administration in light of the coronavirus outbreak. According to the ACLU, the way the Trump Administration is using the Title 42 process goes against protections established for children, and denies them their procedural rights.

The ACLU goes on to say that the process is unjustified, and is really a part of the Trump Administration’s anti-immigration agenda, and just uses the guise of the coronavirus outbreak as a justification for the policy’s flaws.

The coronavirus outbreak class action lawsuit explains that Title 42 aims to grant certain powers of quarantine and and testing. However, the administration is allegedly using the powers in a way that they are not intended, using them to deny migrant kids their rights under immigration law.

The ACLU explains that federal law already has addressed how border officials should respond if they suspect that an immigrant or migrant person has a communicable disease.

However, even if this is suspected, these processes still require that the individual be given their rights. The ACLU stresses that “unaccompanied children may under no circumstances be deported without a proper opportunity to determine their right to remain in the United States.”

The ACLU explains that under the guise of protecting immigration officials from the coronavirus, the Trump Administration has taken to holding unaccompanied minors for multiple days while border officials organize their deportation.

However, the ACLU asserts that this is not necessary, as there are many safety precautions that can be taken to protect border officials, including the use of face masks and gloves, and implementing social distancing. The ACLU says that many public health officials have expressed that these are effective measures to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

Have you seen your community take steps to protect vulnerable individuals during the pandemic? Share your experiences in the comments below.

The detainee is represented by Stephen B. King, Cody Wofsy, Morgan Russell, Adreinne Harrold, Andre Segura, Kathryn Huddleston, Rochelle Garza, Brantley S. Drake, Celso J. Perez, Lee Gelernt, Daniel A. Galindo, Scott Michelman, and Arthur B. Spitzer of the ACLU; by Robert Silverman of Oxfam America; and by Karla M. Vargas and Efren C. Olivares of Texas Civil Rights Project.

The ACLU Migrant Kids Class Action Lawsuit is PJES, et al. v. Wolf, et al., Case No. 1:20-cv-02245, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

Read About More Class Action Lawsuits & Class Action Settlements:

Trump Admin Faces Lawsuit Over USPS Rollbacks Ahead of Voting by Mail

Vaping Lung Disease Symptoms May Be Mistaken for COVID-19

Georgia Democrats, Voters Sue Officials Over Prohibitively Long Poll Lines

How Is Juul Advertising Targeting School Kids?