Trump administration files motion to end protections for immigrant children in federal custody

By VALERIE GONZALEZ McALLEN Texas AP The Trump administration filed a motion on Thursday to end a procedures cornerstone that since the s has offered protections to child foreigners in federal custody in a move that likely will be challenged by advocates Related Articles NOAA predicts above average number of storms in hurricane season starting June Bored with manicured lawns chosen homeowners adopt No Mow May all year long Mahmoud Khalil permitted to hold newborn son for the first time despite objections from executive Pope Leo XIV makes first U S bishop appointment fills San Diego vacancy Who were the Israeli Embassy staffers shot dead days before getting engaged The protections in place known as the Flores Settlement largely limit to hours the amount of time that child settlers traveling alone or with family and detained by the U S Territory line Patrol can be kept in U S Customs and Margin Protection custody They also ensure the children are kept in safe and sanitary conditions The Flores settlement is named for a Salvadoran girl Jenny Flores whose lawsuit alleging widespread mistreatment of children in custody in the s prompted special oversight This is the second time the federal establishment under Trump has attempted to end the strategy In August the first Trump administration inquired a judge to dissolve the agreement Its motion eventually was struck down in December by the th U S Circuit Court of Appeals Under the Biden administration oversight protections for child foreigners were lifted for the U S Department of Robustness and Human Services after new guidelines were put in place last year The Department of Homeland Shield is still beholden to the agreement including Customs and Frontier Protection which detains and processes children after their arrival in the U S with or without their parents Children then are usually distributed with their families or sent to a shelter operated by HHS though processing times often go up when the number of people entering increases in a short time period Even with the agreement in place there have been instances where the federal leadership failed to provide adequate conditions for children as in a situation in Texas where nearly children had to be moved from a Edge Patrol facility following reports they were receiving inadequate food water and sanitation Court-appointed monitors provide oversight of the agreement and document noncompliant facilities to Chief U S District Judge Dolly M Gee of the Central District of California CBP was set to resume its own oversight but in January a federal judge ruled it was not ready and extended the use of court-appointed monitors for another months