SEATTLE (KGTV) -- Seventeen states, including California, are suing in an effort to force the Trump administration to reunite families separated at the U.S.-Mexico Border.
The states, all being led by Democratic attorneys general, joined the nation’s capital in filing the lawsuit in U.S. District Court.
California's Attorney General Xavier Becerra is co-leading the coalition of attorneys general, along with Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson and Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey.
The lawsuit is the first legal challenge by states over the practice. So far, more than 2,000 children have been separated from their parents at the border after the administration enacted its zero-tolerance policy.
Last week, Trump issued an executive order designed to end the practice, but critics say the order is full of caveats and fails to reunite children already separated.
The lawsuit claims the migrants are being denied due process and their right to seek asylum.
The states that sued are Massachusetts, California, Delaware, Iowa, Illinois, Maryland, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia and Washington.
