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Shapiro Joins Lawsuit Against Trump Admin Over Family Separation

Andrew Harnik
/
AP
Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro attends a news conference near the White House, Monday, Feb. 26, 2018.

State Attorney General Josh Shapiro is suing the Trump administration over its family-separation policy for undocumented immigrants on the U.S.-Mexico border.

The move is part of a multi-state coalition of Democratic attorneys general alleging the practice violates the country’s “core values and principles.”

The lawsuit is led by Washington’s Attorney General, and is being filed in the US District Court for the Western District of Washington.

Aside from Pennsylvania, nine other states are involved, and more may join.

The attorneys general are alleging the Trump administration’s policy of separating families violated “the fundamental due process rights of parents to be together with their children, as well as other constitutional and statutory claims.”

Trump issued an executive order earlier this week reversing his family separation policy — though it doesn’t say whether the thousands of children taken will be reunited with their family members.

In a statement, Shapiro said Trump’s order “does not fix” the situation.

He also noted, as part of the administration’s “zero-tolerance” approach to undocumented immigration, 50 immigrants between the ages of four and 17 are currently being housed in Pittsburgh, with a Catholic social services group that’s contracting with the Office of Refugee Resettlement.