A federal court has ordered an eight-year ban on dividing immigrant families at the US border

A federal court barred the separation of families at the border to dissuade immigration for eight years on Friday, preemptively blocking the restart of a lightning-rod Trump-era policy that the former president hasn't ruled out if voters elect him next year.

The Justice Department and ACLU-represented families reached a tentative settlement in October before U.S. District Judge Dana Sabraw. With no formal objections, the ACLU can end the case nearly seven years after filing.

In June 2018, Sabraw, appointed by President George W. Bush, ended separations six days after then-President Donald Trump did so amid international outrage. The judge ordered the government to reunite children with their parents within 30 days, sparking a panic because government databases weren't linked. Children were sent to shelters nationwide without knowing their parents or how to reach them.

The deal prohibits the Trump administration's "zero-tolerance" policy, which separated over 5,000 children from parents detained for illegal immigration until December 2031.

As in previous years, children can be separated under certain conditions. The child may be abused, the parent convicted of heinous crimes, or the adult may not be the parent.