• Press Release

Federal Judge Halts Trump Administration’s Cruel Attack on Flores Agreement, Children’s Rights

September 27, 2019

Yellow and white graphic with the Amnesty international logo on the bottom left and the word
Judge Dolly Gee of the Federal District Court in Los Angeles today issued a ruling halting the Trump administration’s attempt to terminate the 1997 Flores Agreement. The Flores Agreement mandates that children cannot be held in immigrant detention for more than 20 days.

Prior to this ruling, Amnesty International USA had joined Human Rights Watch in an amicus brief supporting the challenge to the U.S. government’s proposed regulations regarding Flores, describing how they violate children’s rights.

Denise Bell, researcher for refugee and migrant rights issued this statement:

“Migrant children should never be detained. Today’s court ruling thankfully prevents the Trump administration from locking up children and their families indefinitely.

“The administration’s cruel and unlawful regulations are yet another attempt to terrorize migrants. Rather than locking up kids and slamming the door on asylum-seekers at our border, the U.S. government should invest its ample resources toward providing protection to people in search of safety.”