Judge partially ends judicial supervision of migrant children, breaking 27-year-old agreement

Fernie Ortiz and JAIMIE DING, Associated Press

14 minutes ago

In this Dec. 10, 2018 file photo, immigrant boys play soccer at the Homestead Temporary Shelter for Unaccompanied Children, a former Job Corps facility where they are now housed, in Homestead, Fla. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A federal judge on Friday approved the Biden administration’s request to partially end a nearly three-decade-old agreement to provide court oversight of how the government cares for migrant children in its custody.

U.S. District Judge Dolly Gee ruled that special judicial oversight could end at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which takes custody of migrant children after they have been in Border Patrol custody for up to 72 hours. They are placed in a vast network of detention centers and usually released to close relatives.

The Justice Department argued that the new protections, which are scheduled to go into effect on Monday, meet and in some ways exceed the standards set out in the so-called the Flores settlement agreement, which first established court oversight of child care facilities in 1997. The judge largely agreed, creating exceptions for certain types of child care facilities for children with more acute needs.

Lawyers for migrant children had strongly opposed the administration’s request, arguing that the federal government had not developed a regulatory framework in states like Texas and Florida that had revoked licenses for facilities that cared for migrant children or might do so in the future. The judge dismissed those concerns, saying the new rules were sufficient to replace court oversight of unlicensed facilities.

Leecia Welch, deputy director of litigation at Children’s Rights, who is representing the children in the case, disagreed with the ruling.

“It is disappointing and premature that we are allowing partial termination of treatment — before the federal government creates an alternative to the key protections offered by state licensing — but we are relieved that the children will continue to have access to a Flores attorney to monitor their treatment,” Welch said.

This ruling preserves the ability of lawyers for migrant children to access information about them and meet with them in centers.

Flores, named for Jenna Lisette Flores, a 15-year-old immigrant from El Salvador, is a cornerstone of a policy that grew out of widespread allegations of mistreatment in the 1980s. It forces the United States to quickly release children in custody to relatives back home and sets standards in licensed shelters, including food, drinking water, adult supervision, emergency medical services, toilets, sinks, temperature control and ventilation.

The judge’s decision came three days before HHS rules go into effect that Secretary Xavier Becerra said would establish “clear standards for the care and treatment of unaccompanied (migrant) children.”

The Justice Department and HHS did not immediately respond to emailed requests for comment.

New regulations at the Department of Health and Human Services create an independent ombudsman’s office, establish minimum standards for temporary shelters for overcrowded people, and formalize screening protocols for the release of children to families and guardians, as well as the provision of legal services.

The ruling shows that of the 13,093 beds operated by the department, 7,317 of them – more than half – are in Texas. The judge rejected the plaintiff’s suggestion to collectively end placements for children in Texas and Florida, calling ending facilities in those border states “not only impractical but also potentially harmful to unaccompanied migrant children.”

Welch said she has heard “horror stories” of abuse and neglect during encounters with children in immigration detention and worries about the lack of infrastructure to investigate cases at facilities not licensed under the new rules. She urged the Biden administration not to abandon children in Texas and Florida.

“Our team will hold them accountable for their promises, and if they don’t keep them, we will be taken to court again,” she said.

The administration has not sought to end judicial oversight of Border Patrol detention stations run by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, which will continue to be subject to the Flores agreement.