A US judge approved a settlement that bars US officials from separating migrant families that illegally cross the US southern border, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) said in a press release.
“A federal court has approved a historic settlement involving the American Civil Liberties Union’s years-long lawsuit on behalf of thousands of traumatized children and parents who were forcibly torn from each other under the Trump administration’s illegal zero-tolerance practice of separating families at the border,” the release said on Friday.
The US government is barred from re-enacting the zero-tolerance policy over the next eight years, the release said, adding that the settlement takes effect on December 11.
According to the ACLU, the settlement also offers aid to an estimated 4,500-5,000 children and their parents.
The US government, the release said, will continue to identify families that were separated, fund their reunification in the United States, and provide a pathway for them to seek asylum in the country.
Owen Shroyer returns to his throne