Judge Dings CBP $1.525M for False Imprisonment of U.S. Citizens

J.A.M. v. USA

"The Court holds that Oscar is entitled to a much lower, but still notable award of $175,000 because he was somewhat older at the time of the incident, was detained for about half the time and not overnight, and manifested less distress during the detention itself. Nonetheless, the detention had enough of an impact on him that his school counselor noticed a concerning change in his grades and behavior following the incident. He also needed to attend therapy for six months. The Court finds that Thelma is entitled to slightly more, $250,000. This is due to the manifest distress she suffered as a mother of innocent young children who were detained for an extended period of time and whom CBP refused to release to her even when she produced documentation of their relationship. She also had to watch her children suffer the consequences of trauma after the fact. Accordingly, the Court finds that $1.1 million for Julia, $175,000 for Oscar, and $250,000 for Thelma appropriately compensate them for their past and future noneconomic damages. For the reasons above, the Court holds that the United States is liable under the FTCA for false imprisonment, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and negligence. In damages, the Court awards $175,000 to Oscar, $250,000 to Thelma Medina Navarro, and $1.1 million to Julia."

"The family’s attorney, Joseph McMullen, said he appreciated [Judge] Curiel not only for the verdict, but for allowing “the opportunity to examine at trial, the high-level CBP officials who were complicit in this outrageous conduct.” He said the agency did not take any steps to correct or investigate the behavior that led to the false confessions. “No employee interviews were conducted. All audio and video evidence was deleted. CBP simply put out a press release blaming the children and swept the rest under the rug,” McMullen said. “If CBP will try to hide the truth when U.S. citizen children are treated so outrageously, imagine how often misconduct against undocumented children will go on uncorrected. I find that deeply troubling.” " - Los Angeles Times, June 26, 2024