Page 5 - HOH

A4 up front
Thursday 22 augusT 2019

HMS moves to end limits on detention of migrant children

Continued from Front “The administration is seek-
ing to codify child abuse,
Homeland Security officials plain and simple,” House
say they are adopting their Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-
own regulations that reflect Calif., said in a statement.
the “Flores agreement,” Peter Schey, a lawyer for
which has been in effect the immigrant children in
since 1997. They say there the Flores case and presi-
is no longer a need for the dent of the Center for
court involvement, which Human Rights and Con-
was only meant to be tem- stitutional Law, said if the
porary. But the new rules regulations don’t match
would allow the govern- the settlement in that case,
ment to hold families in de- “they would be in immedi-
tention much longer than ate material breach, if not
20 days. contempt of court.”
Tightening immigration is a Acting Homeland Security
signature issue for President Secretary Kevin McAleen-
Donald Trump, aimed at re- an said Wednesday the
stricting the movement of regulations create higher
asylum seekers in the coun- standards to govern family
try and deterring more mi- detention facilities. The fa-
grants from crossing the cilities will be regularly au-
border. dited, and the audits made ICE detainees are searched before boarding a Swift Air flight on Tuesday, Aug. 20, 2019 at
The move by the adminis- public. The regulations are McCormick Air Center in Yakima, Wash.
tration immediately gen- expected to be formally Associated Press
erated fresh outrage, fol- published Friday and go
lowing reports of dire con- into effect in 60 days ab- to include immigrants on were completed. Asylum cases involving de-
ditions in detention facili- sent legal challenges. public assistance, poten- Homeland Security did not tained families move much
ties, and it is questionable Holly Cooper, co-director tially denying green cards say how long it expects more quickly than cases
whether courts will let the of the immigration law clin- to more immigrants. There families to be kept, but for families released, tak-
administration move for- ic at University of California, was also a recent effort to McAleenan said under the ing months instead of years
ward with the policy. Davis and a lawyer in the effectively end asylum al- previous administration it to resolve, in part because
Trump defended it, saying, Flores case, said attorneys together at the southern was about 50 days. there are none of the de-
“I’m the one that kept the haven’t seen the final rule border. He said, “The intent is for lays that result when immi-
families together.” and will have a week to There has been a drastic a fair and expeditious pro- grants fail to show up for
The Mexican government brief a federal judge, who increase in the number of ceeding.” hearings.q
expressed concern over will weigh whether they are families crossing the border
the prospect of prolonged consistent with the settle- — about 475,000 so far this
detention of migrant chil- ment. budget year, nearly three
dren in the U.S. In a state- The government’s pro- times the previous full-year
ment from the Foreign Re- posed rule, she said, record for families. Most are
lations Department, Mex- wouldn’t have let lawyers released into the U.S. while
ico said it would monitor monitor conditions in border their asylum requests wind
conditions at U.S. detention facilities and would have through the courts — a
centers and continue to of- dramatically changed how practice Trump has derid-
fer consular services to any long children could be de- ed as “catch-and-release.”
Mexican families that may tained and the standards The Flores agreement has
be held under the new for their care. been in effect since 1997
conditions. It also said that “We’re going to have a but mostly was applied to
it would keep an eye on world that looks a lot like children who came to the
possible court challenges the internment of families country alone. In 2015, U.S.
and that “the appropriate and children, where we District Court Judge Dolly
legal alternatives will be have basically regularized Gee ruled the require-
evaluated.” prison as a default for fami- ments were applicable to
In the U.S., immigrant advo- lies seeking political asylum children who crossed the
cates and Democrats de- in this country,” she told re- border with families, after
cried the new regulations, porters. the Obama administration
saying prolonged deten- The rule follows moves last built family detention cen-
tion would traumatize im- week to broaden the defi- ters and started detaining
migrant children. nition of a “public charge” families until their cases