US immigration kept asylum seeker and daughter apart for months, suit says

Amanda Holpuch - The Guardian

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has filed a lawsuit in US district court against federal immigration agencies that have separated a Congolese woman, given the pseudonym "Ms L" in court documents, and her daughter, according to this article from the Guardian. Ms L and her daughter came to the United States from the DRC at a port of entry in San Diego, California in November 2017 seeking asylum and the two were subsequently detained at separate facilities, according to the suit. Ms L was sent to the Otay Mesa detention center in San Diego, while her daughter was sent to a facility in Chicago, in another state. Ms L and her daughter have been separated for four months. "Lawyers said authorities had not explained why the two were separated and claimed the move indicates the Trump administration is using a controversial tactic meant to deter asylum seekers: separating parents from children indefinitely," says the article.