Eight families separated at border demanding $6 million each for 'lasting trauma'

Brett T. | 7:13 PM on February 11, 2019

Here a nice lead-in piece for President Trump’s rally in El Paso, Texas, tonight, which will almost certainly touch on a border wall. The Associated Press is reporting that eight illegal immigrant families that were separated after being apprehended are suing for millions of dollars to cover their “lasting trauma.”

Eight families separated under Trump administration policy are seeking $6 million each for what they describe as "lasting trauma." https://t.co/HeeyyFaOz1

— KVIA ABC-7 News (@abc7breaking) February 11, 2019

Nomaan Merchant reports from Houston:

Lawyers for eight immigrant families separated under Trump administration policy filed claims Monday against the U.S. government demanding $6 million each in damages for what they describe as lasting trauma.

The parents accused immigration officers of taking their children away without giving them information and sometimes mocking them or denying them a chance to say goodbye. The claims allege that many children remain traumatized, including a 7-year-old girl who won’t sleep without her mother and a 6-year-old boy who is reluctant to eat.

…

Stanton Jones, a lawyer for the families, said the families were entitled to monetary damages because of the government’s “inexplicable cruelty.”

“The government was harming children intentionally to try to advance what it viewed as a policy objective,” Jones said. “It’s heinous and immoral, but it’s also a civil wrong for which the law provides a claim for relief.”

Maybe we’re just cold-hearted, but we’d like to think the families would be glad to be alive, considering that some illegal immigrant children arrived in the United States too late to save their lives despite being airlifted to the hospital. But sure, enter a foreign country illegally and then sue because you were separated while in custody.