Family Separation
Under the Trump Administration’s cruel “Zero Tolerance” policy and its preceding pilot program, the U.S. government separated more than 5,500 asylum-seeking families. Large protests and public outrage gripped the nation when the policy was revealed in May 2018, and a court order in June 2018 in the Ms. L v. ICE case led to the reunification and release of many of the families in the United States. The reunited families were left to fight their immigration cases alone in the United States while those who remained separated were given no opportunity to reunite in the United States. The separated families — whether reunited or still separated — are still reeling from the trauma of the separation. For those who were reunited, the prospect of re-separation if they do not win their asylum claims makes healing more difficult. But the Trump administration’s radical changes to asylum law make prevailing on asylum claims infinitely harder, especially without access to government appointed counsel. Parents who remain separated from their children have been forced to watch their children grow up over video calls, and their children have been forced to integrate into a new country without their parent.
In 2019, CLINIC, in collaboration with its partners and affiliates, created the National Reunited Family Assistance Project, a multi-faceted national response to the family separation crisis. The National Reunited Family Assistance Project provides crucial legal, mental health and social service support to separated families. CLINIC assesses families’ cases for deportation relief and places them with long-term counsel nationwide. We provide pro and low bono attorneys who represent formerly separated families with mentoring, technical assistance and training. CLINIC also provides gap-filling direct representation, including filing motions to change venue to ensure families do not receive in absentia removal orders, completing timely applications for asylum and employment authorization, and filing motions to reopen immigration proceedings.
CLINIC has developed partnerships with numerous social service providers, including food banks and housing organizations, and mental health service providers across the country to help separated families. In addition, CLINIC has secured targeted grants to assist families with purchasing essential items and providing families with transportation so they can actively participate in their immigration cases. CLINIC created and maintains a private online community for separated parents, where separated parents share stories and strategies, receive updates, ask questions of expert attorneys, and request assistance.
To reach our project directly, please contact rep.reunitedfamilies@cliniclegal.org.
Template Motion to Rescind in Absentia Removal Order and Reopen Removal Proceedings for Formerly Separated Families
CLINIC and the Asylum Seeker Advocacy Project, or ASAP, authored this template Motion to Rescind In Absentia Removal Order and Reopen Removal Proceedings for Formerly Separated Families with the goal of assisting practitioners who represent or wish to represent these families.
Resources on Family Separation
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