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| Migrant family separations: States sue Trump administration | Migrant family separations: States sue Trump administration |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Seventeen US states have sued President Donald Trump's administration over its "cruel and unlawful" separation of migrant families. | Seventeen US states have sued President Donald Trump's administration over its "cruel and unlawful" separation of migrant families. |
| Democratic attorneys general from states including Washington, New York and California launched the lawsuit. | Democratic attorneys general from states including Washington, New York and California launched the lawsuit. |
| The legal action objects to the policy of refusing entry to asylum seekers at the US-Mexico border. | The legal action objects to the policy of refusing entry to asylum seekers at the US-Mexico border. |
| It also says the president's 20 June order to keep migrant families together was "illusory". | |
| Massachusetts, Delaware, Iowa, Illinois, Maryland, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont and Virginia plus the District of Columbia are the other states suing the administration. | Massachusetts, Delaware, Iowa, Illinois, Maryland, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont and Virginia plus the District of Columbia are the other states suing the administration. |
| They filed the legal action with the US District Court in Seattle, Washington, on Tuesday. | They filed the legal action with the US District Court in Seattle, Washington, on Tuesday. |
| It is the first legal challenge over family separation from the states, who argue that the Republican president's executive order denies migrant families due process and the right to seek asylum. | It is the first legal challenge over family separation from the states, who argue that the Republican president's executive order denies migrant families due process and the right to seek asylum. |
| Last week, Mr Trump called for speedy deportations on Twitter, just days after he issued the executive order. | Last week, Mr Trump called for speedy deportations on Twitter, just days after he issued the executive order. |
| The states are seeking a court order to reunite families and end the separation practice by declaring it "contrary to the Constitution". | |
| The lawsuit states that Mr Trump's order does not mandate the end of family separation and says nothing about reuniting families who have already been separated. | |
| It also calls the policy "an affront" to the states' interests in maintaining standards of care for children and preserving parent-child relationships. | |
| "The Policy, and the Administration's related conduct, has caused severe and immediate harm to the States and their residents." | |
| New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir Grewal said in a statement that the practice of separating families "is cruel, plain and simple", the Associated Press reported. | New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir Grewal said in a statement that the practice of separating families "is cruel, plain and simple", the Associated Press reported. |
| "Every day, it seems like the administration is issuing new, contradictory policies and relying on new, contradictory justifications. But we can't forget: the lives of real people hang in the balance." | "Every day, it seems like the administration is issuing new, contradictory policies and relying on new, contradictory justifications. But we can't forget: the lives of real people hang in the balance." |
| During a conference call with US media on Tuesday, the US health department's Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) confirmed that 2,047 migrant children were currently still in the care of the agency. | During a conference call with US media on Tuesday, the US health department's Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) confirmed that 2,047 migrant children were currently still in the care of the agency. |
| The children have been sent to holding cells, converted warehouses, desert tents or foster care around the US. | The children have been sent to holding cells, converted warehouses, desert tents or foster care around the US. |
| ORR said there are 11,800 children in the agency's nationwide shelter network. Most of these children are unaccompanied minors who came across the border without a parent or guardian. | |
| ORR director Scott Lloyd refused to say whether the agency was still receiving migrant children who had been separated from their families. | ORR director Scott Lloyd refused to say whether the agency was still receiving migrant children who had been separated from their families. |
| Speaking at a news conference in Brazil on Tuesday, Vice-President Mike Pence had a message for undocumented immigrants planning to journey to America: "If you can't come legally, don't come at all." | |
| "Don't risk your lives or the lives of your children by trying to come to the United States on a road run by drug smugglers and human traffickers," Mr Pence said. | |
| On Monday, the nation's top border security official told reporters in Texas he has temporarily stopped referring migrants who illegally enter the country with children for criminal prosecution. | |
| Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Commissioner Kevin McAleenan said it followed Mr Trump's order, but the president had suggested detaining families together instead. | |
| The lawsuit is similar to the case against the Trump administration's travel ban, which was initially blocked by Hawaii until the Supreme Court reversed the ruling on Tuesday morning. |