Trump administration seeks to end court settlement protecting migrant children in U.S. custody
Since 1997, the settlement, known as the Flores Agreement, has required federal U.S. immigration officials to hold migrant children in facilities that are safe and sanitary; provide them access to lawyers; and seek their expeditious release from government custody.
The legal agreement has also allowed lawyers to inspect detention facilities holding migrant minors, to determine whether conditions are adequate for children and that the government is complying with the provisions of the court settlement.
While the settlement initially largely only applied to unaccompanied minors, in 2015, U.S. District Court Judge Dolly Gee extended the protections to migrant children detained with their parents, generally limiting the detention of such minors to 20 days.
In a filing on Thursday, the Justice Department told Gee, who is based in Los Angeles, that the Flores settlement should be "completely" terminated. It argued the agreement has hamstrung the executive branch from effectively setting immigration policy and incentivized illegal border crossings by migrant families and unaccompanied minors.
"After 40 years of litigation and 28 years of judicial control over a critical element of U.S. immigration policy by one district court located more than 100 miles from any international border, it is time for this case to end," the Justice Department said in its filing.
The Justice Department also argued that, through laws and government regulations, the government has codified some of the provisions of the Flores agreement.
Thursday's move was not entirely surprising. The first Trump administration also tried to terminate the Flores agreement, making similar legal and political arguments against the settlement. But its efforts were blocked by Gee, who was appointed by former President Barack Obama in 2009, and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
The Justice Department on Thursday also asked Gee to lift a ruling that blocked the Department of Homeland Security from enforcing a 2019 regulation that would have allowed the government to detain migrant families indefinitely, bypassing her 20-day limit.
The Trump administration's bid will be challenged by the attorneys representing migrant children covered by the Flores agreement, which they say is critical to ensuring those minors are treated humanely while in U.S. care.
"Eliminating the Settlement's core protections would hand the government unchecked power to imprison children indefinitely in secret facilities — places with no standards, no transparency, and no accountability," said Mishan Wroe, an attorney at the California-based National Center for Youth Law.
"The consequences are not hypothetical: children will suffer," Wroe said.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
16 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Texas lawmakers approve redistricting map favouring Republicans
Texas legislators have approved new congressional maps designed to give Republicans an edge in next year's elections for the US House of Representatives. After a two-week standoff, where Democrats fled the state to stall the vote and rally supporters against the redistricting plans, Republicans in the Texas House of Representatives passed the new voting lines in an 88-52 vote. The maps will now go to the Texas Senate, where they are expected to be swiftly approved. They create five new Republican-leaning seats that would shore up the party's US House majority in Washington DC. Democratic-led states are pushing to redraw their own maps to offset the Texas ones. President Donald Trump backed redrawing the maps to safeguard a Republican majority in the US House. Republicans hold a slim majority in the upper chamber of Congress, which Democrats aim to win back in the 2026 midterm elections. Wednesday's vote in Texas followed a dramatic showdown as Democrats fled across state lines to deny Republicans the quorum necessary in the state legislative body to take a vote. Texas Governor Greg Abbott, a Republican, ordered their absent Democrats' arrest, and some of them said law enforcement had monitored their homes while they were gone. The lawmakers returned this week, saying they had achieved their objective of drawing national attention to the matter. In an effort to ensure Democrats would not attempt to halt the vote again, Texas House Speaker Dustin Burrows ordered the statehouse chamber doors to be locked on Monday. He also said Democrats would be "released into the custody" of a designated police officer to ensure they returned to the statehouse on Wednesday for the redistricting vote. Several Democrats instead ripped up the written agreements that they were required to sign for the police escort. One lawmaker, Nicole Collier, decided to sleep in the chamber rather than be escorted by an officer. In the time since Texas started planning these new voting maps, other states controlled by both political parties - including Florida, New York, Ohio and Missouri - have been weighing similar changes. California lawmakers are currently debating new maps that would give new advantages to Democrats in five districts, which would cancel out changes made in Texas. A key provision in California says the maps would only go into effect if Texas or other states went ahead with changes favouring Republicans. After the vote on Wednesday, California Governor Gavin Newsom wrote on X: "It's on, Texas." The new maps in Texas sparked uproar over gerrymandering - the redrawing of electoral boundaries to favour a political party - which is practised by both main parties and is legal unless ruled to be racially motivated. Like other states, Texas typically redraws congressional districts once a decade when new population data is released by the US Census. Texas Democrats claimed that redrawing the maps before the next population count in 2030 was being done along racial lines - an argument that has been rejected by Republicans. Voting maps that were approved in 2021 after the last population count are still being litigated over claims of racial discrimination. During one of the many heated exchanges during debate in the Texas statehouse, Republican legislator Todd Hunter, who introduced the redistricting bill, was applauded as he scolded Democrats. "Don't come into this body and say we didn't include you," he said. "You left us for 18 days, and that's wrong." Democrats in the chamber questioned the legality of the maps and accused Republicans of trying to "steal" an election. "Let's talk about cowardice and cheats," Democratic legislator Ann Johnson said. "The root of all of this is around racism and power," she added. "A pure power grab." Democrats and civil rights groups have said the new maps will dilute voting power from minorities, which would violate federal law, and have threatened to sue. Texas Democrats return home after redistricting row California governor unveils voting lines plan to counter Texas Republicans Texas redistricting feud escalates as Democrats face bomb and FBI threats
Yahoo
16 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Rights group says US authorities using AI to surveil pro-Palestinian protesters
Amnesty International accused US authorities on Wednesday of using Palantir and Babel Street AI tools to surveil immigrants and target non-citizens at pro-Palestinian protests. The rights group said a review of public records shows the software enables mass surveillance to assess and single out foreign nationals. Amnesty International on Wednesday accused US authorities of using artificial intelligence tools from Palantir and Babel Street to monitor immigrants and target non-citizens at demonstrations supporting Palestinians. A review of documents, including Department of Homeland Security public records, showed that software provided by the AI firms enables mass surveillance and assessment of people, often to target those not from the United States, according to Amnesty International. "The US government is deploying invasive AI-powered technologies within a context of a mass deportation agenda and crackdown on pro-Palestine expression, leading to a host of human rights violations," said Erika Guevara-Rosas of the rights group. "This has led to a pattern of unlawful detentions and mass deportations, creating a climate of fear and exacerbating the 'chilling effect' for migrant communities and for international students across schools and campuses." Amnesty research determined the United States is using the AI tools to track migrants, refugees and asylum seekers as part of a "Catch and Revoke" initiative. The State Department initiative involves social media monitoring, visa status tracking, and automated threat assessments of visa holders such as foreign students, according to Amnesty. Read moreMahmoud Khalil sues Trump administration for $20 million over detention "Systems like Babel X and Immigration OS (from Palantir) play a key role in the US administration's ability to carry out its repressive tactics," said Guevara-Rosas. "Unless Palantir and Babel Street can demonstrate they can use their leverage as suppliers to improve the serious human rights consequences borne by the policies of their clients, these companies should immediately cease their work with the US administration related to immigration enforcement." Use of the AI surveillance tools risks fueling US President Donald Trump's capacity to "deport marginalized people on a whim," Amnesty argued. Since being sworn in for a second term in January, Trump has targeted top US universities over claims they are politically biased towards "woke" politics and has charged -- without evidence -- that they have engaged in antisemitic policies. The administration has characterised widespread campus protests and sit-ins in the United States calling for an end to Israel's war in Gaza as being "antisemitic," and moved to expel foreign students and professors who took part in them. Trump has made the question of student protest, particularly by foreign scholars, a flashpoint political issue. (FRANCE 24 with AFP)
Yahoo
16 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Protesters heckle Vance, Hegseth at photo op to thank National Guard troops in DC
As President Donald Trump's deployment of National Guard troops in Washington continued Wednesday, protesters booed Vice President JD Vance during a photo op with the guardsmen stationed in the city. The protesters jeered Vance, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller as they visited Union Station, blocks from the U.S. Capitol, to thank the troops at a Shake Shack where they bought lunch for the guard members. "Well, a lot has changed in the past seven days," Vance told the troops, referring to when the federal surge against D.C. crime began. "You guys are doing a hell of a job. I'm proud of you and we're grateful," he told the troops. "So, we'll say hello for a bit -- just want to shake some hands and say hey to you guys." "Free D.C.," the protesters shouted as the three officials arrived and then later inside the Shake Shack. The chants drowned out much of what Vance, Hegseth and Miller said as they tried to speak to reporters. MORE: 6th Republican-led state sends National Guard troops to DC as Trump continues law enforcement takeover Vance and Miller dismissed the jeers, calling the protesters "crazy" and "communists." "They appear to hate the idea that Americans can enjoy their communities," Vance said. Vance was asked why troops were stationed at Union Station instead of parts of the city with higher crime rates. The vice president said the station was being overrun with homeless people and visitors didn't feel safe. "This should be a monument to American greatness," he said. Vance added that he believed that crime statistics do not report the full scope of crime on the streets of the nation's capital. After being met with boos at Union Station, Vance sat down with Fox News Wednesday evening to recap his visit, and criticized those who called the surprise visit a PR stunt. "You've got a lot of national guardsmen over there, some D.C. cops who have been heckled by some of the protesters. So I thought, what a good show of moral support to have the vice president, some of the senior team at the White House show up." At a back-to-school event Wednesday morning, Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser said the city doesn't need federal agents to ensure safety in D.C. "Crime has gone down in our city and it has gone down precipitously over the last two years because of a lot of hard work, changes to our public safety ecosystem, including changes to the law," Bowser said. "And we know that those facts don't comport to what some people are saying, but those are the facts." Bowser also said she doesn't believe the National Guard should be used for "law enforcement." "They have to be used on mission specific items that benefit the nation," she said of the guardsmen. However, when asked about how her relationship with President Trump has changed since the start of the year, Bowser said her plan is to "represent the district." Flanked by Metropolitan Police Department Chief Pamela Smith, Bowser repeatedly deferred to Smith when asked about the city's crime data. The MPD has been collaborative with the federal agencies and so far has developed a congenial relationship with its federal partners, according to Smith. Smith also acknowledged having federal agents spread throughout the city has been helpful to the city's police force. "Hearing from the officers on the street, some of them have found it to be very helpful, some people in the community have found it to be very helpful," she said. ABC News' Arthur Jones II contributed to this report.
