What You Need to Know About the Dora v. Sessions, Ms. L v. ICE, and M.M.M. v. Sessions Preliminary Settlement Agreement

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About This Recording

For those families who have been reunited, the reunification videos are heartbreaking. After U.S. Customs and Border Protection tore asylum-seeking children from their parents' arms and separated the families for weeks and even months, the traumatic effects of the separation are immediately evident as we watch children display stoicism at the sight of the parent upon reuniting. In addition to the children's trauma and the parent's sadness, these reunited families must also now contend with pursuing their immigration cases.

On Oct. 9, a federal court preliminarily approved the settlement agreement between plaintiffs and the government in three cases challenging the government’s family separation policies: Dora v. Sessions, Ms. L v. ICE, and M.M.M. v. Sessions. The settlement will allow parents whose credible or reasonable fear interviews were denied after having their children taken from them to have their claims re-evaluated. 

CLINIC’s Michelle Mendez discusses with Liz Willis from the Asylum Seeker Advocacy Project (ASAP) our work assisting previously separated families. Then, speakers from the litigation teams for Dora v. SessionsMMM v. Sessions, and Ms. L v. ICE explain the terms of the preliminary settlement agreement and who can benefit from this agreement. The webinar ends with a Q&A session with webinar participants.

Guidance for Practitioners: Understanding the 2018 Settlement Agreement in the Family Separation Litigation

Family Separation by the Numbers

Date Recorded