A federal judge in Bridgeport has ruled that the government violated the Constitution when it separated two children from their parents at the U.S.-Mexico border. The two children are staying in a group home in Groton, Connecticut, and are suing to be reunited with their parents. Judge Victor Bolden has ordered the government to bring the parents to court for a hearing this week.
The parents watched the first day of court proceedings last week from a detention center in Texas through a teleconference link, but repeated technical difficulties led to delays.
A child psychiatrist testified the children suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder and should be immediately reunited with their parents.
U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal called Bolden’s decision unique and said it could have broad ramifications in other cases involving immigrant children. Bolden left the request that the children be immediately reunited with their parents to another court. He is holding his next hearing on the case on Wednesday.
