Trump Administration Moves to End Limits on Child Detention Camps
The Department of Homeland Security on Wednesday unveiled a new rule that would allow the government to detain undocumented migrant children indefinitely, nixing a decades-old court agreement limiting the amount of time families can be held in US custody. “The Trump administration has established a new rule to respond to the realities of the current immigration flows,” Acting DHS Secretary Kevin McAleenan said in a press conference announcing the controversial measure Wednesday morning.
The forthcoming rule, which would terminate the 1997 Flores Settlement Agreement that prohibits the government from holding migrant children for more than 20 days, would allow the administration to detain undocumented minors and their families for an unlimited period of time—something the White House believes could serve as a deterrent to keep immigrants from entering the country. “By eliminating the incentive to make the journey to the United States as a family,” McAleenan said Wednesday, “the new rule will reduce the unprecedented volume of family units that have strained the already limited resources of our department components and put children throughout the region at risk.”
The Trump administration has come under fire for its treatment of children at the border, particularly over its family-separation policy—a measure that was likewise intended to deter border-crossers. McAleenan attempted to put a humane face on the new policy Wednesday, saying it would help keep families together, protect children, and ensure that government facilities could meet “high standards.” But such assurances ring hollow from this administration, which has argued in court that it shouldn’t have to provide products like toothbrushes, soap, and sleeping mats to detained kids. “These new regulations are extraordinarily cruel,” Denise Bell, a researcher for refugee and migrant rights at Amnesty International, said in a statement. “It is beyond logic and humanity to attempt to keep children locked up for as long as possible, especially when we know that this subjects them to trauma and extreme stress. Children who have already endured violence and persecution would be harmed even further by this policy.”
For more than 20 years, the Flores settlement has set high standards for the treatment of detained children, including the length of time they can be held in government custody; the 20-day cap has been in place since 2015. But the Trump administration maintains that the 1997 agreement is a loophole that has been exploited by smugglers and criminals looking to illegally enter the U.S. “This rule allows the federal government to enforce immigration laws as passed by Congress,” McAleenan said, “and ensures that all children in U.S. government custody are treated with dignity, respect, and special concern for their particular vulnerability.”
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