SEATTLE, Wash. (NBCNC) – Seventeen states are suing the Trump administration over separating migrants families at the border.
The states, which include New York, California and New Mexico, joined Washington, D.C. in filing the lawsuit today in Seattle, Washington.
They are hoping to force the Trump administration to reunite migrant families who have been separated at U.S. borders.
Some 2,300 families have been separated in recent weeks, sparking criticism and protests throughout the country.
Many migrant parents are being housed at facilities thousands of miles away from their kids.
Last week, President Trump signed an executive order designed to end the practice under his “zero tolerance” policy, which prosecutes adults who come to the U.S. Illegally.
But the states say the executive order fails to reunite parents and children who have already been separated.
States involved in the lawsuit are Massachusetts, California, Delaware, Iowa, Illinois, Maryland, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia and Washington.
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