The issue focused on legislation introduced by Attorney General Eric Holder that gave federal prosecutors broad discretion to pursue prosecution under laws criminalizing illegal immigration. Law enforcement authorities began arresting dozens of immigrant mothers and children after Congress authorized such prosecutions in 2006. More than 400 immigrants were deported during the 2012 fiscal year.

Lawyers representing victims said federal prosecutors regularly violated constitutional protections against unlawful detention and seizure when families were illegally detained or confined for weeks without charge. Prosecutors frequently abused civil rights laws to prosecute mothers who illegally crossed the border with