In a decision legal experts described as “pathbreaking,” a federal judge in Los Angeles has ruled that the U.S. government must furnish and pay for mental health counseling for immigrant families traumatized when they were separated at the border by federal agents.
According to the New York Times, the decision by U.S. District Judge John A. Kronstadt, issued late Tuesday, will force the government to immediately provide mental health screening services to immigrants across the country affected by the Trump administration policy of separating the adults and children of immigrants caught trying to cross into the United States illegally.
Erwin Chemerinsky, dean of the University of California Berkeley School of Law, described the decision as “groundbreaking” in an interview with the Times. Carl Tobias, a professor of law at the University of Richmond, who specializes in federal courts, called it “pathbreaking.”
“The court is recognizing that when a government creates a danger that inflicts trauma, the government is responsible for providing a solution,” Chemerinsky said. “It is not something I have seen a court do before.” – READ MORE