If approved, the settlement would provide families with some temporary benefits such as work authorization, short-term housing medical assistance, including behavioral health services. It also would provide them with an opportunity to apply for permanent immigration status through the asylum system. The government’s short-term and impermanent relief denies families the stability and support they deserve as they piece their lives back together. Instead, the federal government should — and can still — provide separated families with permanent immigration status, monetary damages and accountability for the harm they continue to endure. Justice for separated families must include permanent immigration status in this country, so that families can focus on rebuilding their lives without the looming fear of deportation to dangerous circumstances.

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Organizations: American Civil Liberties Union, Trump