THE HALFAX HEIMDALL AUGUR

New York City sued over alleged racial discrimination in removal of children by protective services <p>Plaintiffs say children’s services uses ‘emergency removal’ disproportionately against Black and Latino families</p><ul><li><p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/news/2026/feb/17/sign-up-for-the-breaking-news-us-email-to-get-newsletter-alerts-direct-to-your-inbox?utm_medium=ACQUISITIONS_STANDFIRST&amp;utm_campaign=BN22326&amp;utm_content=signup&amp;utm_term=standfirst&amp;utm_source=GUARDIAN_WEB">Sign up for the Breaking News US newsletter email</a></p></li></ul><p>On Thursday, two families filed a class-action lawsuit against the city of <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/new-york">New York</a>, alleging that the administration for children’s services (ACS) abuses its emergency removal power to take children from their parents without a court order. The families say that Black people and Latinos are disproportionately affected by the practice.</p><p>The “emergency removal” power is supposed to be used only in extreme and urgent situations in which there is not enough time to obtain a court order. Instead, the lawsuit alleges, the ACS is using a racially discriminator…

Taking Children from Their Parents Without a Court Order A class-action lawsuit is challenging the emergency-removal practices of New York’s Administration for Children’s Services www.newyorker.com/news/our-loc...

New York City sued over alleged racial discrimination in removal of children by protective services Plaintiffs say children’s services uses ‘emergency removal’ disproportionately against Black and Latino families www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

Lawsuit Challenges NYC's Frequent 'Emergency Removals' of Kids Lawsuit Challenges New York City’s Frequent ‘Emergency Removals’ of Black and Latino Kids from Home By Michael Fitzgerald and Sara Tiano Illustration by Christine Ongjoco for The Imprint. A federal lawsuit filed Thursday accuses New York City’s Administration for Children’s Services (ACS) of routinely separating children and parents through unjustifiable and unconstitutional means — abrupt removals that are mischaracterized as emergencies and executed without court orders. “These seizures — which predominantly and disproportionally target the City’s Black and Latino families — frequently occur in the middle of the night, involve armed police officers, and result in ACS caseworkers pulling terrified children out of their beds,” reads the filing with the U.S. District Court for the Southern District in Manhattan. “Children have characterized the experience as ‘like being kidnapped.’” The class action suit was filed on behalf of parents and children who were separated. It cites The Imprint’s investigation published in December, which revealed that so-called “emergency removals” are standard practice in New York City and a…