Family Separation Crisis Response
What is the “Family Separation Crisis”?
In April 2018, the United States government announced the “zero tolerance” immigration policy. As a result, migrant families were forcibly separated at the U.S. - Mexico border. The government tore children away from their parents, sending them to separate facilities. Many children could not contact their parents for weeks or months. Traumatized parents were imprisoned and rushed through the court system. Many were denied a fair chance to explain if they were fleeing persecution and needed protection in the U.S. – a right protected under U.S. asylum law. Others signed “voluntary departure” papers believing that was the only way they would see their children. Thousands of families were ripped apart, and more than 400 parents were deported without their children.
MAY–JUNE
SEPTEMBER–OCTOBER
JANUARY
2019
FEBRUARY–MARCH
NOVEMBER–DECEMBER
JULY–AUGUST
U.S. government announced “zero tolerance” immigration policy, after which more than 2,000 migrant children were
forcibly separated
from their families
at the U.S. border.
APRIL
2018
APRIL
2019
We continue to work with U.S. lawyers on civil rights claims for families separated at the border, while simultaneously helping families access psychosocial support for the injustices they
have suffered.
How did Justice in Motion help the separated families?
After deporting hundreds of separated parents, the United States government declared them “ineligible” for reunification, because they were no longer in the U.S. But at Justice in Motion, we know that migrant rights cannot stop at the border. We mobilized our on-the-ground Defender Network of human rights lawyers and NGOs across Mexico and Central America to find the parents deported without their children and help families to reunite in their countries of origin.
How can I help?
The United States government tore migrant families apart. With your help, Justice in Motion and the Defender Network will continue to help these families pursue justice and healing.
Together, we can ensure that these families are not forgotten and that they have access to the resources and services they need. Your donation will enable us to accompany families over the long struggle to regain the unity and dignity that were taken from them.
Please donate today so that we can sustain our support for the families who still need us. Your gift will also strengthen our other programs to secure access to justice for all migrants.