The Trump administration is moving to end a longstanding federal court agreement that limits how long immigrant children can be kept in detention, a decision that will almost certainly lead to a new court fight over the government’s ability to hold migrant families until their cases are decided.
The Flores agreement requires the government to keep children in the least restrictive setting and to release them as quickly as possible, generally after 20 days in detention. Ending it has been a top priority for the administration.
Homeland security officials say they are adopting regulations that reflect the agreement and there is no longer a need for court involvement, which was only meant to be temporary.
The move is the latest effort by the administration to restrict immigration, Donald Trump’s signature issue, and is aimed at restricting the movement of asylum seekers in the country and deterring more migrants from crossing the border.
It is bound to generate fresh outrage, following reports of dire conditions in detention facilities, and it is questionable whether courts will let the administration move forward with the policy.
Peter Schey, a lawyer for the immigrant children in the Flores case and president of the Center for Human Rights and Constitutional Law, said if the regulations don’t match the settlement, “they would be in immediate material breach, if not contempt of court”.
“I think all these things are now part of the 2020 campaign,” Schey said.
The officials said they are creating a set of higher standards to govern family detention facilities, which will be regularly audited, and the audits made public. But the rules would allow the government to hold families in detention until their immigration cases are completed, which could be much longer than 20 days.
The officials spoke to reporters on condition of anonymity to discuss regulations that had not been made public.
The regulations were expected to be formally published Friday and go into effect in 60 days absent legal challenges.
They follow moves last week to broaden the definition of a “public charge” to include immigrants on public assistance, potentially denying green cards to more immigrants. There was also a recent effort to effectively end asylum altogether at the southern border.
