For 27 years, federal courts have overseen custody conditions for child migrants. The Biden administration is seeking partial relief from this oversight. U.S. District Judge Dolly Gee will review the request in Los Angeles, just before new safeguards come into effect that align with the Jenny Flores settlement, named after a child immigrant from El Salvador.
The administration aims to end the Flores agreement at the U.S. Health and Human Services Department, while maintaining it at the Border Patrol and the Department of Homeland Security. The Flores agreement mandates quick release of children to family members and sets standards for licensed shelters, including provisions for food, water, supervision, medical care, sanitation, and ventilation.
Court oversight allows advocates to visit facilities, interview staff and migrants, and file complaints with Judge Gee for necessary changes. However, the administration argues that the new safeguards, effective July 1, make Flores unnecessary at HHS facilities. The department will enforce state licensing standards for shelters and increase site visits to ensure compliance.
Opponents of lifting court supervision, particularly lawyers for child migrants, raise concerns about the lack of regulatory framework in states that have revoked licenses for facilities caring for child migrants. Texas and Florida, under Republican governors critical of high migration levels, revoked licenses in 2021, leaving a gap in oversight that could jeopardize child safety.
Maintaining court oversight for the Homeland Security Department would preserve key aspects of Flores, such as the 20-day limit on holding unaccompanied children and parents with children. Border Patrol facilities have faced severe overcrowding, notably in 2021.
Since the inception of Flores in 1997, child migrant care shifted from the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service to Homeland Security and later to Health and Human Services in 2003. The separation of responsibilities led to challenges in reuniting families during the Trump administration's 2018 border separations.
The surge of unaccompanied children at the border in 2014 drew attention to the federal government's handling of child migrants. Subsequently, the number of children traveling alone from Mexico has risen, exceeding 130,000 arrests last year. Health and Human Services typically releases most unaccompanied children to relatives while their immigration cases are reviewed.
