US states sue Trump administration, Congress remains divided
Over a dozen US states have sued the Trump administration over its decision to implement a policy that separates children of undocumented migrants from their families. They alleged that Trump's order last week seeking to halt such break-ups was "illusory", and couldn't help the thousands of children who had already been separated. Meanwhile, despite expectations, Congress isn't close to passing any legislation. Here's more.
What the lawsuit is essentially about
Democratic attorneys from the states of California, New York, and Washington led the charge, and was joined by fourteen other states in what is the first legal challenge to family separation in the US. The lawsuit argues that Trump's "zero tolerance" policy denies migrant families due process and the right to seek asylum, and that separation of families is "contrary" to the US Constitution.
Why Democrats are opposing Trump's recent executive order
"The new federal executive order does not bring back together the thousands of families that were torn apart by the federal government's policy, and it does not prevent families from being separated in the future," said Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan, a Democrat.
Trump's anti-separation executive order has glaring loopholes
Spurred by a global media outrage, Trump backtracked on his two-month-old "zero tolerance" policy last Wednesday, and, through an executive order, demanded that family separations be ended. However, the President's order had glaring loopholes, and didn't explain how the Trump administration's hardline immigration policies could be adjusted to keep families intact and house them while their legal statuses are determined.
Contradictory policies have become synonymous with the Trump administration
"Every day, it seems like the administration is issuing new, contradictory policies and relying on new, contradictory justifications. But we can't forget: The lives of real people hang in the balance," said New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir Grewal.
Congress divided, as some Republicans express discontent with new bill
Trump had urged the Congress to quickly back his executive order with new legislation. Consequently, the House of Representatives was slated to vote on a new broad-based immigration bill seeking to bar separation of children from families, and for providing $25bn to Trump's US-Mexico border wall. However, several Republicans have expressed their discontent with the bill, which is unlikely to pass without their support.
No reunification till Congress passes new legislation
Meanwhile, Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Alex Azar told a Senate hearing on Tuesday that the 2,000 plus immigrant children who had been separated from their families couldn't be reunited till Congress passes new legislation. Extant laws do not permit reunification, and till they're amended, HHS would have to wait for families to go through immigration proceedings before reunifying them with their children.
