Public Counsel is proud to announce a substantial settlement from the U.S. government for two of our clients, a mother and daughter who were tragically separated due to the Trump Administration’s inhumane 2018 family separation immigration policy. This mother and daughter endured two months of separation and have spent years grappling with the psychological trauma inflicted by this policy. While no amount of compensation can ever make up for their suffering, the relentless efforts of Public Counsel’s Immigrants’ Rights Project, along with pro bono partners Squire Patton Boggs and Proskauer Rose LLP, have brought a measure of justice to this family and held the government accountable for its actions.
Our journey with this family began in 2018 when we first met the mother at a detention facility in Orange County, California. She had been without any contact with her daughter for 40 days, after her daughter was moved to another state following their separation. Our dedicated attorneys traveled to Arizona to locate her child, document her story, and deliver the reassuring message that her mother had not forgotten her. Through the monumental efforts of a team of over a dozen professionals, we succeeded in securing the reunification of this family. A few weeks later, we oversaw an emotional reunion at Burbank airport, as the daughter stepped off the plane into her mother’s warm embrace.
The impact of this case extends beyond this individual victory. The mother also served as the lead plaintiff in the class action lawsuit, Ms. J.P. v. Sessions, aimed at holding the federal government accountable for its reckless and harmful family separation policy. Due to the bravery of this family and other plaintiffs, in 2019, we secured a groundbreaking preliminary injunction requiring the federal government to provide mental health screenings and treatment to thousands of immigrant families traumatized by the Trump Administration’s actions.
This recent settlement represents a significant victory not only for our clients but also for the broader fight for immigrants’ rights. We want to extend a special thanks to Shawn Ledingham, a partner at Proskauer who recently joined Public Counsel’s Board of Directors, for dedicating countless volunteer hours to help this family secure justice. Public Counsel remains committed to defending the rights of all communities and ensuring that injustice is met with unwavering resistance and legal recourse.
