(Image source from: PressFrom)

Governor of New York Andrew Cuomo stated he plans to file a lawsuit against the federal government within next several days over the treatment of immigrant children separated from their parents.

Cuomo says around 70 children are being held at the facilities in New York. He called the practice of family border separation is inhumane and a form of extortion.

He further says New York has grounds to sue since some of the children are being held in Westchester private facilities, the Bronx and Long Island, which have contracted with the federal government. Their detention violates legal rights of children under the state and federal constitutions.

"Children have legal rights," said Cuomo. "They apply whether they are documented or undocumented."

Cuomo says the state has asked the federal government if it can render health and mental health services to the children, but he says the federal government has "gagged the facilities" and told him that the state would have to apply for access, a procedure that could take weeks.

By Sowmya Sangam