Two asylum seekers residing in Rhode Island challenge the US government policies that separated them from their kids after their family crossed into the country. They claimed that the separation caused crippling impacts on their emotional and mental health.
A father living in Central Falls and a mother living in Providence, identified only through their initials, accused the federal government of "child abduction, negligence, abuse of process and intentional infliction of emotional distress," as per a lawsuit brought in the U.S. District Court by law firm Ropes & Gray LLP.
They asserted that the government "forcibly" separated them for weeks from their children in the summer of 2018 with only limited communication and subjected them to "dangerous and unhealthy conditions," allegedly "for the express purpose of inflicting as much pain and suffering on the families as possible," Providence Journal reported.
These two families demand unspecified damages under a federal law that allows financial awards for personal injury or death caused by the "negligent or wrongful act of a government employee acting within the scope of their job."
Mother from Guatemala
The mother, 33-year-old M.M.C., tried comforting her then six-year-old daughter by telling her they would see each other soon while a federal agent "ripped" the girl away from her. For the first two weeks of the separation, she had no idea about her daughter's whereabouts nor of any chances that they would be reunited again.
On the 52 days that they were kept apart, she was only able to talk to her after through very minimal short calls.
Further, during the separation, the mother found out that she was pregnant from being raped by her abusive former partner in Guatemala, the reason she was escaping to the US.
According to the lawsuit, she was "shackled, malnourished, taunted, and forced to sleep in squalor without adequate prenatal care or potable water." The separation and the nasty condition she and her daughter were in caused the latter to be deeply traumatized and her baby to have a deficiency in vitamins and delays in early childhood development, according to Yahoo News.
Her daughter, who was once outgoing and passionate about singing and dancing, now has a fear of talking to strangers, struggles in her education, and only eats cereal and specific fruits. The baby, on the other hand, requires two "vitamin injections" every day and "will have lifelong health issues due to the government's failure to provide adequate care for [the mother] in custody."
Father from Honduras
The father, 25-year-old N.A.B., is a native of Honduras. He stated he went to the border with his 7-year-old son, who was "dragged" from him as the boy yelled, "Papi, Papi, Papi!"
They were separated for 45 days. During the separation, he had nothing to eat but rotten foods, was injured yet denied medical attention, and slept in an overly crowded room with one dirty toilet.
He was even sent on a plane for deportation without his boy but was taken out of it at the last moment.
The hopelessness pushed him to attempt suicide, which he survived. When he was able to see his son again, the boy accused him of abandonment. Currently, his son suffers from emotional challenges and severe anxiety.
"This lawsuit is a tragic reminder of the devastating cruelty of the Trump administration's family separation policy. The damaging effects it has had on thousands of families will ripple for years. This episode was, and remains, a shameful blot on our country's treatment of immigrants. While the damage cannot be undone, one can only hope the courts will provide at least some level of relief," executive director of the Rhode Island ACLU affiliate, Steven Brown, declared.
The lawsuit claims that the government "tore" around 4,000 children from their parents from May 5 to June 26, 2018. Amid the reunification efforts that have been happening, there are still more than a thousand kids who are still away from their parents - a depth of the "government's failure."
