Under the “zero tolerance” policy applied by former Republican President Donald Trump from 2017 to January 2021, thousands of children were separated from their families to discourage the massive arrival of migrants to the border with Mexico.
Government watchdogs and immigration advocates have found that separations began before and continued after the policy officially began.
An estimated 500 to 1,000 children remain separated and the number covered by the settlement is likely to expand, the ACLU said.
“The practice of separating families at the southwest border was shameful,” Attorney General Merrick B. Garland said in a statement on Monday.
The agreement, subject to court approval, comes after a long negotiation and two years after the government refused to grant the families the financial compensation they requested for the trauma suffered.
Additionally, the agreement will prohibit the government from enforcing any policy that leads to widespread separations for eight years, but allows exceptions for reasons of national security, criminal detention orders, medical emergencies or if a child’s safety is in danger.
Even in the event that the child is separated from his parents or guardians, certain rules must be respected: communication between them will be maintained, it will have to be documented in a database and the parents will have to be provided with “sufficient information to understand the reasons.” .
ACLU attorney Lee Gelernt called the settlement “a critical step to help thousands of families.”
In addition, the agreement includes assistance so that separated families can reestablish themselves after reunification, such as housing, medical assistance, access to work and residence permits and in some cases help to travel from abroad.
The US authorities are also committed to advising them on asylum applications, in addition to providing legal help.