DHS Rolls Out Plan to Close ‘FLORES’ Loophole on Illegal Immigrant Family Detention
Will Racke | Immigration and Foreign Policy Reporter
The Trump administration introduced a new set of rules Thursday that would allow the long-term detention of illegal immigrant families and terminate the Flores settlement, a court order the White House says is a major “pull factor” for illegal immigration.
If enacted, the rules would give the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) broad authority to set standards for the detention and care of illegal immigrant families in its custody.
The most significant change in the 200-page proposal, which will be published in the Federal Register on Friday, permits the government to keep migrant families in detention until they are deported or win a favorable decision in immigration court.
“Today, legal loopholes significantly hinder the department’s ability to appropriately detain and promptly remove family units that have no legal basis to remain in the country,” DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen said in a statement. “This rule addresses one of the primary pull factors for illegal immigration and allows the federal government to enforce immigration laws as passed by Congress.”
Current detention policy is governed by the Flores consent decree, a 1997 Supreme Court order that requires the government to release unaccompanied alien children (UAC) from detention to relatives or licensed shelters without unnecessary delay. In 2015, federal Judge Dolly Gee ruled that Flores also applied to children apprehended while traveling in family units. As part of the ruling, Gee established a 20-day maximum period that children could remain in immigration detention with their parents.
The Trump administration has sought to overturn that provision, arguing the order’s special treatment of migrant families encourages illegal immigration across the southwest border. After Gee denied the government’s request to modify her Flores ruling in June, the administration moved to pursue the matter via regulatory changes. (RELATED: Federal Judge Rejects Trump’s Request To Change Catch-And-Release Loophole)
The proposal’s most critical change would create a federal licensing system to certify detention centers for illegal immigrant families. Flores currently requires children to be detained in state-licensed family residential centers, but the proposed rule hands licensing authority to the federal government, making it easier to keep families in detention for the entirely of their immigration court proceedings.
Many of the current Flores rules will remain unchanged under the new framework, including the requirement that UAC be placed in the care of vetted sponsors or shelters contracted by the Department of Health and Human Services.
The publication of the rules in the Federal Register initiates a 60-day public comment period. After that, the Trump administration can certify the regulations as final, which would would likely trigger a court challenge.
Under Flores, the original plaintiffs can sue the government if they believe new detention policies are “inconsistent with the terms” of the settlement.
Send tips to [email protected].
Get Citizensjournal.us Headlines free SUBSCRIPTION. Keep us publishing – DONATE
I really don’t believe its fair that the money I “give” to my government should be spent on ILLEGAL aliens. The national parks I USED to visit are burnt up or are in decline, my roads and infrastructure are riddled with potholes and damage. These are just a few things I can think of that would better MY living conditions. William Hicks suggested we use the old military bases – why haven’t we addressed our HOMELESS problem by using these same bases. Why are people so against helping ourselves out first before others? The airlines get it, they ALWAYS say to put the mask over your own face before helping others with theirs.
Interesting. According to Gibbon, the Romans separated the children of the Barbarians ( Germanic tribes) to whom they gave asylum when the Huns descended , in order to teach the Barbarian children Roman culture. One of many parallels I have found in the book.
Not a very good analogy, since:
1. There is a difference between the chartitable actions of caring for children while parents are detained for breaking the law or being processed for refugee status.
2. American public schools have not taught traditional American culture for a long time, but are instead focused on New World Order values, such as they are.
Crimes against humanity include the subjection of developing children’s brain development to trauma. The separation for any length of time from parent or family members is inhumane and similar to Japanese internments, and Nazi concentration camps.
May I suggest that some of the military bases that have been deactivated be consider as holding facilities for ILLEGAL Aliens?