Trump Seeks Exemption From Class Action Limiting Immigrant Kid Detentions

The Trump administration last week sought an exemption to legal standing from a class action called Jenny L. Flores, et al. v. Jeh Johnson, et al. that restricts the ability of the U.S. government to detain minors born outside of the country, seeking the ability to detain children and their parents for a longer period of time.

According to court documents, the administration wants to keep children and their parents together in detention while their immigration cases move through the courts.

These immigration cases can reportedly take months or even years to reach conclusion.

The U.S. government claims that keeping the children in detention centers rather than releasing them will improve the likelihood that their parents will show up for their scheduled hearings.

“This crisis at the border regarding illegal family crossings mandates that the government take action,” the U.S. government states in its memorandum. “Accordingly, we ask for immediate interim relief from this court that would permit family detention during immigration proceedings.”

Last week, President Donald J. Trump signed an executive order restricting the ability of immigration officials to separate children from their parents, following a public rebuke of its new “zero tolerance policy” against people who cross the border without prior authorization.

Nearly 2,000 children have been separated from their parents since April 19, according to the U.S Department of Homeland Security.

The Flores lawsuit was filed in 1985 and is widely recognized for setting the standards applicable to the detention of children of immigrant children. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in 2016 reportedly affirmed a July 2015 order that held in part that children who are accompanied by adults must be released to their parents, even if they are not authorized to be in the United States, as long as the adult “does not present a significant flight risk or danger to safety.”

In August 2015, U.S. District Judge Dolly Gee clarified that children could be detained with a parent for up to 20 days while immigration officials determined whether the person presented a credible claim that deportation would result in persecution.

“This court’s construction of the Flores settlement agreement eliminates the practical availability of family detention across the nation, thus creating a powerful incentive for aliens to enter this country with children in violation of our criminal and immigration laws and without a valid claim to be admitted to the United States,” the federal government contends.

The U.S. government argues that Congress needs to create a policy that will keep families together and improve the process of immigration.

The plaintiffs are represented by Carlos R. Holguin and Peter A. Schey of the Center for Human Rights & Constitutional Law, Leecia Welch, Neha Desai, Poonam Juneja and Crystal Adams of the National Center for Youth Law, and Holly S. Cooper and Carter C. White of the University of California, Davis School of Law.

The U.S. Immigration Class Action Lawsuit is Flores, et al. v. Sessions, et al., Case No. 2:85-cv-04544, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.