O’Melveny Represents Immigrant Families Separated at Border

O’Melveny is representing more than 20 parents and children separated at the US-Mexico border under the Trump administration’s “Zero Tolerance” policy. The firm has brought suit under the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) on behalf of these families in an effort to collect damages from the government for the suffering caused by the separation. In addition to filing administrative claims for these clients, the firm is pursuing federal litigation for many of them.

In one particularly compelling case, O’Melveny represents a mother and her 8-year-old daughter from El Salvador who were forcibly separated at the border after fleeing to the United States to escape violent persecution. The government detained them in deplorable conditions, subjected them to abuse and ridicule, and deprived them of all communication with each another other for 10 excruciating days. After turning the daughter over to family members living in the United States, the government kept the mother in detention for nearly six more months before deporting her to El Salvador. The mother and daughter did not see each other again for more than three years.

On their behalf, O’Melveny has sued the United States under the FTCA for negligence, loss of consortium, and intentional infliction of emotional distress, seeking to right the harms they suffered at the hands of the government.