Rights Group files lawsuit for migrant widow after husband committed suicide in US custody

WASHINGTON, Aug 20: The Texas Civil Rights Project and the Escamilla Law Firm said in a statement that they have filed a lawsuit on behalf of a migrant widow from Honduras after her husband committed suicide in US custody following his separation from his child due to the Trump administration’s zero-tolerance policy.
“The Texas Civil Rights Project and the Escamilla Law Firm filed a lawsuit against the federal government and Starr County in South Texas over the wrongful death of Marco Antonio Munoz in the county jail after he was separated from his child due to the zero-tolerance policy,” the statement said on Monday.
The release added that the lawsuit was brought on behalf of Mr. Munoz’s wife and two children.
Munoz, his wife and 3-year-old son were apprehended by US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents in May 2018, the release said, adding that the agents used physical force to take the Munoz’s son away.
Munoz was taken to a county jail near the border after he was apprehended and the following day he was found dead, the statement said.
The lawsuit, the release said, argues that the “unnecessary” mental and emotional violence pushed Munoz to suicide because of the anguish and trauma he experienced after separated from his family.
On June 26, 2018, a US federal judge in California issued a preliminary ruling to stop the separation of migrant families entering the United States illegally and immediately reunite already separated children with their parents.
According to a report from the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Inspector General, an estimated 8,000 asylum-seeking families have been broken up since 2017.
(agencies)

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