One migrant family has been reunited after being separated under the Trump administration’s “zero-tolerance” immigration policy when they crossed the U.S. border seeking asylum from Guatemala.
Beata Mariana de Jesus Mejia-Mejia and her 7-year-old son Darwin had their emotional reunion at the Baltimore-Washington International Airport in Maryland in the early morning hours on Friday. The mother-son duo were all smiles as they walked through the airport hand-in-hand.
Darwinwas being held at a Phoenix, Arizona, sheltersince mid-May, CNN reported. He was separated from his mother just days after they crossed the U.S.-Mexico border, fleeing domestic violence from Mejia’s husband.
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Mejia subsequently sued several government agencies, as well as top Trump administration officials, claiming they violated her rights when they separated the pair, CNN reported. Additionally, the outlet reported that she was seeking damages for pain and suffering.
In the lawsuit, Mejia said that when officials took away her son, “he was screaming and crying and did not want to be taken away from his mother,” reported CNN.
The Trump administration’s “zero-tolerance” policy resulted in over 2,000 children being separated from their parents at the border since May.
Earlier this week, President Trump signed an executive order reversing his administration’s policy. “We are keeping families together,” Trump said in the Oval Office.
RELATED VIDEO: President Trump Says He’ll Sign Executive Order Reversing His Child Separation Policy
The next day, a senior official from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection,told theWashington Postanonymouslythat migrant parents entering the United States illegally with their children willno longer face criminal charges.
The official added that on Wednesday evening, following PresidentDonald Trump’s decision tosign the executive order, Border Patrol agents were told to cease sending migrant parents to federal courthouses.
As ICE does not currently have enough room to house the amount of detained families, the official added to thePostthat many families will likely be released from custody while waiting for their appointed court hearings.
source: people.com
