A U.S District Court in Tucson has rejected the government's request to drop a lawsuit seeking financial compensation for migrant families separated under the Trump administration’s zero-tolerance border policy.           

Thousands of children were separated from their parents under zero tolerance. The ACLU filed suit in 2019 seeking compensation for a group of five families separated in Arizona. The Biden administration asked the court to dismiss it, arguing it had already condemned the policy and was working to reunite families.

Stephan Kang is with the ACLU.

"One one hand, the government is saying that they condemn what the Trump administration, but at the same time they’re still defending themselves in court against our legal claims," he said. "So we’ll see what they say as they try to walk that line."

The Biden administration was in settlement talks with separated families and the ACLU late last year, but talks fell apart before the end of the year. 

Judge John Hinderaker is allowing the Arizona case to move forward now, but he ruled individual Trump-era officials, like Stephen Miller and Jeff Sessions, could not be held personally liable for the harm caused by family separation. 

The government has 15 days to respond to the ruling. A spokesperson with the Department of Justice declined to comment on the litigation.