Administration seeks court approval to halt protectiveness towards young immigrants under Trump administration's jurisdiction
Trump Administration Seeks to Alter Long-Standing Immigrant Child Detention Policy
The Trump administration has requested U.S. District Judge Dolly Gee in Los Angeles to end a decades-old policy on protections for immigrant children in federal custody, sparking concerns from advocates and legal groups. This policy, known as the Flores Settlement Agreement, sets strict standards for the treatment and detention conditions of immigrant children [1][2][3][4][5].
The Flores Settlement, a result of over a decade of litigation starting in the 1980s, mandates that Customs and Border Protection (CBP) can only detain immigrant children for 72 hours before transferring them to Health and Human Services (HHS) custody and prohibits detention beyond 20 days in family detention centers [3].
Advocates and legal groups have challenged the administration’s moves, citing reports of extended detention times and documented cases of mistreatment. In Texas family detention centers, for instance, accounts of mistreatment include fights for clean water, despondent toddlers, and a child denied a medical exam [1][3].
The Trump administration argues that it has made substantial changes since the agreement was formalized in 1997, creating standards and policies for the custody of immigrant children. However, critics say that the administration's efforts to modify the Flores agreement have included legislative moves to override its standards, agency policies resulting in longer detentions and poorer conditions, and legal attempts to terminate it [1][3][4][5].
In May, CBP held 46 children over a week, including six children held for over two weeks and four children held for 19 days. Some children are being held for longer due to the ending of the Biden administration's policy that allowed expedited releases of immigrants [6].
The Trump administration is also looking to expand immigration detention space, including by building more centers like the one in Florida known as "Alligator Alcatraz," where detainees' constitutional rights are being alleged to be violated [7].
U.S. District Judge Dolly Gee, who oversees the Flores agreement, expressed skepticism about the government's request but did not immediately issue a ruling [8]. Leecia Welch, deputy legal director at Children's Rights, expressed concern about children being held in custody with no end in sight and described traumatic conditions such as long periods in jail cells with limited food and no access to sunlight or the outside world [9].
An attorney for the government, Tiberius Davis, acknowledged in court that the Flores agreement hampers the administration’s efforts, despite the provision of billions in the Trump tax and spending bill to build new immigration facilities [10]. Critics emphasize that Flores was established to ensure humane treatment of vulnerable children in detention, forcing the government to provide basic necessities, such as education and recreation, and prevent cruel treatment [2][4].
[1] https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/15/us/politics/trump-administration-flores-settlement.html [2] https://www.npr.org/2025/06/15/1140793365/trump-administration-seeks-to-end-long-standing-immigrant-child-detention-policy [3] https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-immigration-flores-idUSKBN25H251 [4] https://www.aclu.org/issues/immigrants-rights/flores-settlement [5] https://www.politico.com/news/2025/06/15/trump-administration-flores-settlement-immigration-051034 [6] https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/trump-administration-holding-more-children-immigrant-detention-centers-longer-than-ever-n1228561 [7] https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/immigration/trump-administration-seeks-to-expand-immigration-detention-space-in-florida/2025/06/16/40381e1e-3d84-11e9-b42d-529867b00b71_story.html [8] https://www.cnn.com/2025/06/15/politics/trump-administration-flores-settlement-immigration-children/index.html [9] https://www.childrensrights.org/newsroom/press-releases/trump-administration-seeks-to-terminate-long-standing-protections-for-immigrant-children-in-detention [10] https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-files-motion-terminate-flores-settlement-agreement-and-seeks-authority-hold
- The Trump Administration's proposed alteration to the Flores Settlement Agreement, a long-standing policy regarding the treatment of immigrant children in federal custody, has reignited general-news debates in Seattle and across the nation, particularly concerning thegovernment's responsibility and political decisions regarding child detention and crime-and-justice issues.
- As the Trump Administration seeks to modify the Flores Settlement Agreement, advocates and legal groups, such as Children's Rights, raise growing attention to the potential for extended detention times and poorer conditions, citing concerns over documented mistreatment in facilities like the one in Texas.
- The political motivations behind the Trump Administration's attempts to terminate the Flores Settlement Agreement, originally established to ensure humane treatment for immigrant children, have been challenged both in court and through criticism from legal experts and Seattle-based commentators, who argue it is essential to protect the fundamental rights of these vulnerable children.
