Federal court enforces Flores Settlement Agreement, shields immigrant children from prolonged CBP detention
LOS ANGELES — After rejecting the federal government’s efforts to terminate the Flores Settlement Agreement last Friday, a federal court on Monday reaffirmed that the government remains legally obligated to promptly process, transfer, and release immigrant children as expeditiously as possible.
Despite these clear protections, Flores co-counsel has documented alarming evidence that children are being subjected to prolonged detention in punitive, prison-like conditions. Many are confined for weeks or even months in Customs and Border Protection (CBP) facilities, detention sites intended only for short-term processing, where conditions are wholly inappropriate and harmful for children.
“These CBP facilities are cruel, barren, and psychologically scarring to children,” said Sarah Kahn, Senior Staff Attorney with the Center for Human Rights and Constitutional Law. “No child should be in a prison for any amount of time. This order will help to shorten the imprisonment of children and move them promptly out of the worst and most traumatizing facilities.”
U.S. District Judge Dolly Gee acknowledged this reality, ruling that “CBP facilities are intended only for short-term use” and ordering that children be detained there only for the time “reasonably require[d] to process [them] for release and/or actively arrange for and complete transport … to a more suitable facility,” noting that CBP facilities “by design, are not suitable for [children] for long periods of time.”
“The district court’s ruling underscores the critical role of the Flores Settlement Agreement in protecting the safety and welfare of children in government custody,” said Leecia Welch, Deputy Litigation Director at Children’s Rights. “In our role as Flores counsel, we will continue to lift up the voices of imprisoned children and hold the government accountable for their humane treatment. Without court oversight, children in immigration custody would be left entirely at the mercy of a government that has consistently betrayed them.”
The Court also addressed conditions that directly affect children’s well-being: freezing temperatures and lights that stay on all night. Judge Gee found that Flores co-counsel had shown the government was in “substantial noncompliance” with the Flores Agreement, leaving children exposed to unsafe conditions. She ordered that children be kept in safe, comfortable temperatures and that lights be dimmed or turned off at night so they can sleep. These practices are deliberate government failures aimed at increasing the suffering of immigrant children and their families, leaving them cold, exhausted, and deeply vulnerable.
“Every time I have visited a CBP border station, children and teenagers alike have described the constant frigid air that blows on them day and night while they sit in holding rooms they are not allowed to leave,” said Becky Wolozin, Senior Attorney with the National Center for Youth Law. “One child told me he missed seeing the sun, and the only way he knew the time or day was by keeping track of a clock mounted on a guard surveillance station. The Court rightly recognized that CBP facilities are unacceptable places to hold children for prolonged lengths of time.”
This ruling underscores the ongoing power of the Flores Settlement Agreement to protect children in immigration custody. In place since 1997, the Flores Agreement holds the government accountable for ensuring immigrant children are processed, transferred, and released promptly. Thanks to Flores and this ruling, immigrant children are better protected today than they were just days ago.
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The Center for Human Rights and Constitutional Law is a legal non-profit committed to protecting and advancing the rights of immigrants through legal action, advocacy, and education. Through impact litigation, we challenge unlawful immigration policies to drive systemic change and establish stronger legal protections for immigrants. At the local, state, and federal levels, we advocate for fair and humane policies that uphold the rights of all immigrants. For more information, please visit centerforhumanrights.org.
The National Center for Youth Law centers youth through research, community collaboration, impact litigation, and policy advocacy that fundamentally transforms our nation's approach to education, health, immigration, foster care, and youth justice. Our vision is a world in which every child thrives and has a full and fair opportunity to achieve the future they envision for themselves.
Children’s Rights is a national advocacy organization dedicated to improving the lives of children living in or impacted by America’s child welfare, juvenile legal, immigration, education, and healthcare systems. We use civil rights impact litigation, advocacy and policy expertise, and public education to hold governments accountable for keeping kids safe and healthy. Our work centers on creating lasting systemic change that will advance the rights of children for generations. For more information, please visit childrensrights.org.
