US administration argues against trial in case of Trump-era family separations at border with Mexico

By ANITA SNOW
Associated Press

PHOENIX (AP) — The government has argued in federal court in Phoenix that a lawsuit seeking money for five affected migrant mothers and their children should be dismissed despite President Joe Biden’s loathing of his predecessor’s practice of separating families at the U.S.-Mexico border. A Justice Department attorney said Tuesday the case shouldn’t go forward. He argued that the Border Patrol agents involved used their discretion to separate the families, not a policy aimed at deterring migrant arrivals. An attorney for the plaintiffs said the case should be tried because the separations were part of a bigger policy. The judge will decide in the coming weeks.