Migrant children languish in custody for months because of new federal rules, lawsuit says

Two advocacy groups are suing the Trump administration to halt the use of new rules they say have kept migrant children in federal custody and separated from their families for months as the children’s mental health deteriorates.

The National Center for Youth Law and Democracy Forward filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on behalf of a Los Angeles-based immigrant advocacy group along with two siblings in California foster care, a teenager who gave birth while being detained and other children who crossed the Southern border without a legal custodian and have been in federal programs for prolonged periods.

The suit names the Department of Health and Human Services and its Office of Refugee Resettlement, which administers programs to care for the children until they are released to sponsors, often family, in the United States. HHS did not respond to The Times’ request for comment.

The Trump administration has implemented a raft of new security regulations since January that require families who want to reunify with children to provide proof of income and a U.S. identification and, in many cases, to take a DNA test.

The policies can be daunting for undocumented family members, some of whom have no way of obtaining an American ID or don’t have a regular paycheck.

“The policy changes our clients are challenging do not increase children’s safety but instead present insurmountable hurdles before families who want nothing more than to be together,” said Mishan Wroe, an attorney at the National Center for Youth Law.

“When a child is denied release to a parent solely because their only form of photo ID is a foreign passport, it’s hard to see this as anything more than making life as hard as possible for the immigrant families who seek safety in our country.”

According to ORR data, the length of time children remain in custody has tripled — from 37 days in January to 112 days in March.

Lawyers argue that the changes, which were rolled out over several months, upended families who had been on the precipice of reuniting with their children.

Among those named in the lawsuit is a 17-year-old girl, identified as Angelica S. She crossed the border in November, and her sister began the process of sponsoring her, providing a passport and fingerprints. But because Angelica was pregnant and due in February, ORR would not release her until her child was vaccinated in April. By that time, new regulations had been implemented, and her sister, Deisy, could not obtain the required documentation.

In March, among the changes, the administration stripped out rules that prohibited the collection and sharing of immigration status with law enforcement. It also rescinded a regulation that stops ORR from denying the release of a child based solely on a sponsor’s legal status.

Angelica’s case manager, according to the lawsuit, asked her to find a new sponsor who had documents. But everyone she tapped was too afraid they would be reported to immigration.

“Being separated from my family during this time, with a new baby, has been really hard for me,” said Angelica S., according to comments provided by lawyers. “My sister has done everything my case manager asked her to do. I don’t understand why I can’t live with her.”

Angelica is now looking at raising her daughter in custody until she turns 18, when she will be released. By that time, her daughter will be 10 months old.

In the past, Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents have picked up minors on their 18th birthday.