AG Ferguson: Washington, other states to sue Trump administration over separating immigrant families at border

Flanked by Gov. Jay Inslee, immigrant-rights leaders, state lawmakers and others, Attorney General Bob Ferguson announced Thursday that Washington will lead a coalition of nearly a dozen states that will sue the Trump administration over its “zero tolerance” policy of separating immigrant children from their parents during illegal border crossings.

The lawsuit, announced in front of the Federal Detention Center in SeaTac, will challenge the constitutionality of the family separation policy and President Donald Trump’s new executive order meant to replace it, Ferguson said. The suit will be filed “imminently” in federal court in Seattle, he said, but he did not give a specific date other than “within the next few business days.”

“We’ll allege that the administration is violating constitutional due-process rights of the parents and children by separating them as a matter of course and without any findings that the parent poses a threat to the children,” Ferguson said. “The policy is also irrationally discriminatory in violation of constitutional guarantees of people protection, because it only targets people crossing our southern border, not any other entrance to the United States.”

A Department of Justice spokesperson in Washington, D.C., who handles immigration issues did not immediately respond to requests for comment about the lawsuit Thursday.

https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/ag-ferguson-washington-other-states-to-sue-trump-administration-over-zero-tolerance-immigration-policy/