A district court judge ruled that the constitutional rights of two immigrant children, who were separated from their parents at the southern border, were violated and stated that irreparable harm occurred as a result of this separation. Further, the government was ordered to produce the parents in court and a plan for addressing the children’s post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and family reunification. (J.S.R. v. Sessions, 7/13/18)
Background on this case: On July 5, 2018, J.S.R. and V.F.B., two children, who were separated from their parents after crossing this country’s southern border, filed a motion for preliminary injunction against numerous federal government officials and entities, seeking an order that would “(1) enjoin Defendants from continuing to detain Plaintiffs J.S.R. or V.F.B., maintaining their separation from their parents, or delaying release to suitable sponsors; and (2) after parent and child confer, order Defendants to release J.S.R. and V.F.B. by July 13, 2018 to a suitable sponsor or to reunite with their respective parents, as directed by the Plaintiffs.”
The Court therefore orders the following:
- The Court will hold a status conference on July 18, 2018, at 11:00 a.m., in Courtroom Two, 915 Lafayette Boulevard, Bridgeport, Connecticut.
- At the July 18th hearing, each party shall present a plan for addressing the children’s trauma as a result of the Government’s unconstitutional separation of the children from their parents.
- The Court GRANTS Plaintiffs’ motion for writs of habeas corpus ad testificandum for J.S.G. and A.B.A. ECF No. 56. Those writs will follow in a subsequent order. The parents shall be brought to Courtroom Two, 915 Lafayette Boulevard, Bridgeport, Connecticut, at 9:00 a.m. on July 18, 2018, and shall remain there until the conclusion of the hearing.
- The Court will also issue writs of habeas corpus ad testificandum for J.S.R. and V.F.B., who shall also be brought to Courtroom Two, 915 Lafayette Boulevard, Bridgeport, Connecticut, at 9:00 a.m. on July 18, 2018, and shall remain there until the conclusion of the hearing.
- The Government is directed to continue to facilitate video teleconferences between J.S.R. and his father, and between V.F.B. and her mother, on a daily basis between July 13, 2018, and July 18, 2018. The Court will determine whether to continue this contact at the July 18th hearing.
Source: AILA Doc. No. 18072473.
