Many of you know that American Immigration Council is one of the organizations suing the federal government on behalf of separated families. Here's a 🧵 on the very specific harms to parents and children that the government has now chosen to defend in court. Warning: they are very disturbing.

Our lawsuit seeks compensation for five mothers and their children: - C.M. was separated from her 5-year-old. - L.G. was separated from her 7-year-old. - M.R. was separated from her 12-year-old. - O.A. was separated from her 5-year-old. - V.C. was separated from her 6-year-old.

I'll start with C.M., who was separated from her 5-year-old son for two and a half months. This mom and her son crossed the border in May 2018 seeking asylum. When she got to a Border Patrol station, agents said they were going to take her son. and said "Happy Mother's Day."

Border Patrol agents then threw C.M. and her son into a freezing cold cell, after first confiscating all of their warm clothes. They were fed only "watered-down broth." Other mothers in the cell told her that their children had already been taken. She spent the night sobbing.

C.M. and her son were kept in the cell for two days. She was in constant fear. Then the moment came; a Border Patrol agent entered the cell and told her he was taking her son away. She begged with the agent not to do it. But the agent just laughed and made fun of her accent.

When C.M. realized that the Border Patrol agents wouldn't budge, she turned to her son and had to tell him that he was going to go away and she wouldn't be there. He begged, sobbed, and clutched his mother so hard that Border Patrol agents had to pry him from her arms by force.

For the next week, C.M. had no idea where her son was. She was bounced around several different ICE detention centers. When she finally got a chance to talk to him, he "sounded terrified and heartbroken" and kept asking her when she was coming to get him. Remember, he was 5.

#BREAKING: Today, a judge approved our settlement agreement in the Garcia Ramirez lawsuit challenging the unlawful detention of unaccompanied children who turn 18 while in detention. 🧵(1/2) bit.ly/3kuNZDf

After 4 years of litigation, today’s order means the government will drop its appeal, making final a court order that required ICE to change its policies on the detention of 18-year-old migrants. This lawsuit was filed with National Immigrant Justice Center and Kirkland & Ellis. bit.ly/3D6mdXe

📢 "Immigration detention centers deny justice" Read the latest from American Immigration Council Legal Director Kate Melloy Goettel and Alexandra Miller, Director of our Immigration Justice Campaign in the Dallas Morning News➡️bit.ly/3UhOeR1 Alex Miller Kate Melloy Goettel Jeremy Robbins

#Breaking: Judge Sullivan declared today that #Title42 violates the law. This new judgment should restore normal immigration law at the border, after 2.5 million expulsions in the past two years since the program's inception. Read our full statement ➡️ bit.ly/3gbxPzk

This week, #SCOTUS heard oral arguments for the U.S. v. Texas, a dispute over the Biden Administration's authority to set immigration policy. Listen to our senior attorney, Emma Winger, explain the potential impacts of this case w Andrew Craft LiveNOW from FOX: youtu.be/sbG66q-AqVw

In a new The Washington Post opinion piece, @ThePlumLineGS illustrates how lawmakers may be able to protect Dreamers during this lame duck session. In response, our Executive Director Jeremy Robbins shares his thoughts: (1/2)

NEW: Class Action Filed Against USCIS for Extreme Processing Delays that Leave American Families Stranded. READ more here: aila.org/advo-media/pre… American Immigration Council, IMMpact Litigation, Aaron Hall, Charles Kuck, Jesse Bless, Greg Siskind, and Gibbs Houston Pauw #601ADelay

Late yesterday, a group of immigrants filed a federal class action lawsuit in #Seattle against U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services USCIS, challenging bureaucratic logjams that have left them in a multi-year limbo. Read More: bit.ly/3R6NC08

🌟 MAJOR WIN ALERT 🌟 The Iowa Supreme Court just preserved abortion access in Iowa by blocking a near-total abortion ban from taking effect. This is a resounding victory for Iowans and reproductive freedom. #BansOffOurBodies

1/5: Today, along with Southern Poverty Law Center, ACLU, ACLU of Florida, and Americans for Immigrant Justice - AI Justice, we filed a federal lawsuit challenging Florida's anti-immigrant law #SB1718. immcouncil.co/43puVtr

For those trying to understand what the heck is happening with #SB4 (Texas's controversial new immigration law, which is back on hold as of Tuesday night despite #SCOTUS's ruling earlier in the day), I have a summary of how we got here—and what happens next—over at "One First."

Iowa Law is thrilled to welcome Kate Melloy Goettel (07JD), a national leader in immigration law and federal court practice, to the faculty this summer. Professor Goettel will start and lead a federal civil rights clinic with an immigration focus. ➡️ ow.ly/ILno50S9YqM

Great conversation w/ Ben Kieffer yesterday on IPR’s River to River. We discussed recent federal court ruling halting Iowa’s illegal reentry bill as well as Biden’s new policies on parole in place and the border. iowapublicradio.org/podcast/river-…