'Cannot just simply disregard it': Judge orders Trump admin to uphold Biden-era agreement over family border separation policy
A federal judge in California has found the Trump administration in violation of an agreement to provide legal services to people affected by the U.S. government’s family separation policy.
On Tuesday, in a 19-page order enforcing the settlement agreement, U.S. District Judge Dana M. Sabraw, a George W. Bush appointee, ruled that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) must provide the class members with private attorneys in light of the violation.
Now, the government must re-enter into a contract with the Acacia Center for Justice — a prior arrangement abandoned earlier this year at the behest of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
The long-running litigation began in 2018 and stems from the controversial policy enacted by the first Trump administration of intentionally separating immigrant children from their parents.
“The policy resulted in the separation of thousands of parents from their minor children, many of whom remain separated to this day,” Sabraw explains. “The policy caused lasting, excruciating harm to these families, and gratuitously tore the sacred bond that existed between these parents and their children.”
In 2021, the Biden administration quickly worked to negotiate a settlement. Discussions, however, took quite a long time and the settlement agreement in the case was only reached in late 2023.
The court found the government has since violated numerous provisions of the settlement agreement — after the plaintiffs raised an initial alarm bell in late April upon learning of DOGE’s plans.
But, at first, the court was cautious.
“Because the Acacia contract had not yet expired, the Court found there was no breach and denied the motion,” the order reads. “The Court also ordered the parties to meet and confer on the issues discussed during oral argument, and invited Plaintiffs to renew their motion if those issues could not be resolved. Unfortunately, the issues were not resolved, and the present motion ensued.”
After fully briefing the issues, the judge determined the government specifically failed to provide adequate — and promised — legal services to the class members on several fronts.
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