Moms Detained In WA Sue Feds To Get Their Kids Back

SEATTLE, WA - Three asylum seekers being held in detention centers in Washington are suing the federal government over a recently-rescinded Trump administration policy of separating children from parents at the U.S.-Mexico border. The three plaintiffs had their young children taken from them a month ago and sent to holding centers thousands of miles away.

Yolany Padilla, Ibis Guzman, and Blanca Orantes allege that the government violated the due process clause of the Constitution because their children were taken without a court hearing. The women want a judge to reunite them with their children.

"The Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment does not permit the government to forcibly take minor children from their parents without a compelling justification. The Due Process Clause also prevents the government from separating these families without a hearing. That separation also violates the asylum statutes, which guarantee a meaningful right to apply for asylum," the lawsuit says

The suit also alleges that federal officials have not conducted "fear interviews" with the women. A fear interview is one step in the process of getting asylum status in the U.S. The women fled to the U.S. from Honduras and El Salvador

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) are all named as defendants in the suit. The Northwest Immigrants Rights Project filed the suit on behalf of the three detained women.

By executive order, President Donald Trump last week rescinded the policy of separating children from their parents at the Mexico border. That order, however, does not address how families will be reunited.

Here's how each of the three women lost their children, according to the lawsuit:

Ibis Guzman: She arrived with her 5-year-old son on May 16 from Honduras on May 16. Border Patrol agents took them into custody as soon as they crossed the border. They were transferred to a detention center called "The Freezer" because of how cold it is. While Border Patrol agents were questioning her, they took her son, saying he would be returned in three days. She has been held in detention in Washington - first in SeaTac, now at the detention center in Tacoma - and recently learned her son is in San Antonio, Texas.

Blanca Orantes: She and her 8-year-0ld son entered the U.S. on May 21, and were taken to The Freezer. They were separated at that facility, where a Border Patrol agent allegedly told Orantes to "say goodbye" to her son. Orantes' son is being held at a home for children in Kingston, N.Y., which is about 100 miles north of New York City.

Yolany Padilla: She and her 6-year-old son came to the U.S. on May 18 from Honduras. Here's how the lawsuit describes their separation:

"[A]n officer there announced to her and the rest of the group that the adults and children were going to be separated. The children old enough to understand the officer began to cry. J.A. clutched his mother’s shirt and said, “no, mommy, I don’t want to go.” Ms. Padilla reassured her son that any separation would be short, and that everything would be okay. She was able to stay with her son until they were transferred later that day to a hielera, where they were forcibly separated without explanation."

With the help of the Honduran embassy, Padilla was able to locate her son at a facility in The Bronx in New York City.

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