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Cuomo Threatens N.Y. Suit Over Child Border-Separation Practice

Cuomo Threatens N.Y. Suit Over Child Border-Separation Practice

(Bloomberg) -- New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said the state is preparing to sue the Trump administration over its "zero tolerance" policy of separating undocumented children from their parents at the U.S. border, calling the practice unconstitutional and inhumane.

Cuomo directed three state agencies to sue over the policy, which has led to at least 2,000 children being separated from their families, including more than 70 who are being housed in federal facilities in New York, the governor’s office said Tuesday in a statement. The suit will be filed in coming weeks, Cuomo said in a phone call with reporters.

Families that crossed the U.S. border during prior administrations were usually processed together and released with a date to appear in court. Attorney General Jeff Sessions scrapped that policy in favor of prosecuting every adult who entered the country illegally, including those seeking asylum. Some adults are being deported without their children, Cuomo said.

The American Civil Liberties Union sued in March to stop the policy.

To contact the reporter on this story: Erik Larson in New York at elarson4@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: David Glovin at dglovin@bloomberg.net

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