Monday New York Attorney General Barbara D. Underwood– part of a coalition of 18 Attorneys General– asked a federal judge to order the federal government to provide details about and access to victims of the Trump administration's family separation policy on an expedited schedule, part of a new filing in their lawsuit to block the policy. The Attorneys General also filed a total of 99 declarations from individuals, organizations, agencies, and experts impacted by the Trump administration's policy, including from parents and children who were separated.
“It is inhumane, unconscionable, and illegal to keep these children separated from their families,” said Attorney General Underwood. “The stories detailed in our case make clear the irreparable trauma being caused to these children by the Trump administration’s policy, which also continues to harm New York’s fundamental interests in protecting families’ health, safety, and wellbeing. This policy is unconstitutional and we will continue to do everything in our power to stop it.”
The filing includes declarations reflecting the stories of parents and children who were separated; at least some of those children were taken to New York. That includes Edy, a nine-year-old boy from Honduras who was separated from his mother in May 2018; while Edy's mother remained in federal custody in Texas, Edy was taken by bus to a federally-contracted program in New York City. It also includes Yolani Karina Padilla-Orellana, who was moved to a detention facility in Washington State while her son was transferred to a facility in New York.
The declarations also include statements from New York State and City agencies, as well as Kids in Need of Defense (KIND), which has served children who were separated from their parents, and Robin Hood, which funds a number of early childhood development, immigration legal services, and nonprofit programs impacted by the policy.