Dolores, * a 6-year-old girl from Guatemala, and her mother fled Central America after facing domestic violence. While they were crossing the border, Dolores’s mother was injured. She was told by border officials that they would watch over Dolores while she received medical attention. Instead, Dolores was transferred more than 2,500 miles away to a government shelter in New York.

When Dolores’s mother was released from custody, the government told her that she would not get her daughter back until she underwent an onerous and time-consuming application process. She would have to undergo fingerprint background checks for herself and all household members, provide proof that she was Dolores’s mother, and even prove her financial means to care for her own daughter. Meanwhile, confused and alone in government custody, Dolores struggled emotionally, cried often, and asked why her mother had abandoned her.

As soon as the Young Center was appointed to this case, we identified Dolores’s mother as part of the class in the Ms. L litigation, an ACLU lawsuit for children forcibly separated from their families. As a member of the Ms. L class, Dolores and her mother should not have been subject to the government’s typical family reunification requirements. In collaboration with Catholic Charities, we submitted a best interests recommendation arguing that Dolores and her mother must be reunified immediately. The day after we submitted our recommendation, the government released Dolores to the care of her mother.

By that time, Dolores, a 6-year-old child, had spent 79 days in custody, separated from her mother.

*Child’s name changed to protect privacy.