A federal judge will decide Friday on a Trump administration bid to end a nearly 30-year-old policy that guarantees safe and sanitary conditions for immigrant children in U.S. custody.
U.S. District Judge Dolly Gee in Los Angeles will hear arguments on whether to dissolve the Flores agreement, which limits Customs and Border Protection (CBP) from holding immigrant children for more than 72 hours, requires them to be kept in safe conditions, and allows independent inspections of CBP facilities.
Advocates want the protections to remain, citing accounts from detained families that describe children competing with adults for clean water, distressed toddlers, and a child with swollen feet denied medical care.
The Trump administration argues the policy is outdated, saying conditions have “substantially improved” since the 1997 agreement, with new standards and laws now in place. The settlement, named after a teenage plaintiff, covers all immigrant children, whether traveling alone or with family. After 72 hours, children are transferred to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
Last year, the Biden administration partially rolled back the agreement, with Judge Gee allowing court supervision to end once HHS takes custody, except for facilities housing children with special needs.
Child advocates say the government is still violating time limits. In March and April, CBP reported holding 213 children for over 72 hours, including 14 — some toddlers — for more than 20 days in April. If the settlement ends, detention centers would no longer face independent inspections.
The government is also planning to expand immigration detention, including facilities like one in Florida nicknamed “Alligator Alcatraz,” where detainees allege their constitutional rights are being violated.
