Top Organizations Encourage Appeals Court to Keep Protections in Place for Migrant Children

Read the amicus brief here.

Nearly 20 organizations steadfastly oppose the second Trump Administration’s renewed effort to abandon the protections for immigrant children guaranteed by the Flores Settlement Agreement (FSA).

“We were pleased with the district court’s decision that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) are not in substantial compliance with the Flores Agreement and strongly encourage the Ninth Circuit to uphold that decision,” said Partner David L. Dubrow. “The FSA remains essential for the protection of children’s health and well-being, we hope the court will agree.” 

Partner James H. Hulme added, “As we explained when the first Trump Administration attempted to end the court’s oversight, the Administration seeks to abandon the commitments made to children and families in the Flores settlement and puts children at risk. Detention is inherently harmful to children. They need to be living with their parents and attending school in the community while waiting for their immigration court hearings to be finished.”

The FSA, a settlement reached in 1997 in Flores v. Reno, established basic protections to keep immigrant children from harm. Among its requirements, the FSA obliges the federal government to treat “all children in its custody with dignity, respect and special concern for their particular vulnerability as children.” The FSA further emphasizes that detained children should be placed “in the least restrictive setting appropriate to the child’s age and special needs …” and provides that immigrant children should be released without unreasonable delay. Critically, the FSA explicitly states that the presiding Administration shall make “prompt and continuous efforts” to promote family reunification, noting that such efforts are to continue as long as the child is in custody. 

As the amicus brief explains, the Ninth Circuit held that the Trump Administration DHS’s 2019 Final Rule was inconsistent with the FSA when first promulgated, and it remains so now. The brief also addresses the insufficiency of HHS’ discretionary policy guides. The amici provide overwhelming, empirically based research that corroborates the recommendations of DHS’ own advisory committee that “detention or the separation of families for purposes of immigration enforcement or management are never in the best interest of children.” 

The amicus brief argues that long-term detention of children has a proven devastating impact on their health, education and general welfare and that this is particularly true for infants and toddlers. In addition, the amicus brief advocates for family unification in the community, not in detention centers. 

The following organizations have joined the brief as amici curiae: The American Academy of Pediatrics, American Academy of Pediatrics California Chapter, American Academy of Pediatrics Texas Chapter, American College of Physicians, American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, American Pediatric Society, American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children, Association of Medical School Pediatric Department Chairs, California Medical Association, First Focus on Children, National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners, National Association of Social Workers, National Education Association, Physicians for Human Rights, Safe & Sound, Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine, and Zero to Three.

The ArentFox Schiff, appellate amicus brief team includes Partners David L. Dubrow, James H. Hulme, and Justin A. Goldberg; Counsel Cissy Jackson; Associates Elise L. Bonine, Nicholas Kianpoor, and Sydni Green; and Senior Paralegal Specialists Jack Hitt and Ryan W. Therrian. 

Read the entire brief here.

Read the disclosure statement here.