SEATTLE — Attorney General Bob Ferguson today announced he will lead a coalition of states in challenging the Trump Administration’s policy of forced family separation on the U.S. southern border. The lawsuit will be filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington.

When the lawsuit is filed, it will be Ferguson’s 27th against the Trump Administration.

“This is a rogue, cruel, and unconstitutional policy,” Ferguson said. “We’re going to put a stop to it.”

Gathered outside the federal detention center in Seattle, where dozens affected parents have been held, Ferguson and Washington Governor Jay Inslee announced the upcoming lawsuit at a press conference today, along with Northwest Immigrant Rights Project (NWIRP) Executive Director Jorge Barón. Barón also announced that NWIRP intends to file a similar lawsuit in the near future on behalf of individuals affected by the policy.

The states’ lawsuit will allege the Administration has violated the constitutional due process rights of the parents and children by separating them as a matter of course and without any finding that the parent poses a threat to the children.

The states set to join Ferguson’s lawsuit include: Massachusetts, California, Maryland, Oregon, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Minnesota. Ferguson anticipates that additional states will join the litigation when it is filed.