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San Antonio (U.S.A.).- The government of President Donald Trump is seeking to eliminate a judicial agreement, reached more than 25 years ago, that obliges authorities to offer protections to migrant minors who are under federal custody.
With a filing presented today before a court in California, the Republican Administration is asking for the elimination "in its entirety" of the so-called 'Flores Agreement' which since 1997 establishes minimum standards for the treatment of migrant minors.
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Among them, guaranteeing them access to health and education services, keeping them in facilities that have a license to care for minors, and releasing them quickly to a family member or legal representative.
The legal settlement has also allowed immigrant defense lawyers to bring to light the challenges faced by minors in federal custody, including children entering the U.S. accompanied by a family member or legal guardian.
In the document presented today, the Trump administration alleges that the agreement does not allow it to implement the immigration policies it would like and imposes the will of the judiciary over the Executive.
Specifically, government lawyers blame the Flores agreement for having "changed the migratory landscape" by removing some factors that dissuaded families from entering the U.S. irregularly.
In turn, it points out that the conditions in migrant detention centers have improved "substantially" since the agreement was signed.
This is the second time Trump has tried to lift protections for migrant children: an attempt to dissolve this agreement during his first term (2017-2021) was blocked by an appeals court.
A similar request was made by the Barack Obama Administration (2009-2017) following the increase in unaccompanied children entering the country in 2014.
The agreement is named after Jenny Flores, a 15-year-old who fled the civil war in El Salvador and after crossing the border in 1985, faced harsh treatment by immigration authorities, including a strip search and being locked up in a juvenile center for months without education, recreation, and other support while awaiting deportation.
The expulsion was avoided after the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and other organizations sued the U.S. Government and litigation began that covered all the children and resulted in the agreement.
