New regulations allow indefinite detention of children
The Flores Agreement establishes minimum standards for the care of migrant children in government custody and ensures that they are not locked up for months or years. Today, the government announced regulations that would gut Flores and allow the indefinite detention of children.
The administration has routinely engaged in a dangerous game of rhetoric in which the Flores Agreement is mischaracterized as a “loophole” exploited by children. Under the guise of preventing more family separation, today’s regulations eliminate the central protections guaranteed under Flores. But children are not “loopholes" and family detention is not an acceptable alternative to family separation.
The regulations exempt family detention facilities from state licensing rules, leaving the care of vulnerable children in the hands of DHS, the same agency responsible for the death of children in its custody and recent raids that tore families apart.
Detention is never in the best interests of children, and we will not be deterred by this latest attack on the safety, health, and dignity of immigrant children and families. The Young Center will fight these new regulations to ensure they are never implemented. We will continue to advocate for a system that puts children first and ensures that families remain together and free while they seek protection.
Young Center for Immigrant Children's Rights works with the most vulnerable unaccompanied and separated immigrant children in federal custody so their voices are heard and their best interests are protected. We also advocate for an immigration system that treats children as children.
