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WASHINGTON – The Trump administration on Wednesday unveiled a regulation that would allow it to detain migrant families crossing the border indefinitely, replacing a decades-old court agreement that limited the time the government could keep in detention for migrant children. . level of care they must receive.
The White House has for more than a year lobbied the Department of Homeland Security to replace the agreement, known as the Flores Settlement, a change that, according to the administration, is crucial to stop immigration to the southwestern border.
The new regulation, which requires the approval of a federal judge before it can come into force and should be immediately challenged in court, would set standards for conditions of detention in detention centers and would specifically remove a 20-day limit for the detention of families in immigration jails, a ceiling that has prompted President Trump to repeatedly complain about the "recovery" of Central American families and families. elsewhere in the United States.
"This rule allows the federal government to enforce immigration laws passed by Congress," said Kevin K. McAleenan, Acting Secretary of Homeland Security, in a statement. He called it a "critical rule" that would allow the government to detain families and maintain "the integrity of the immigration system".
The administration proposed the rule last fall, allowing the public to comment on the potential settlement. It is expected to be published this week in the Federal Register and come into force 60 days later, although officials agree that the expected court challenge is likely to delay it.
[[[[The Flores agreement has protected migrant children for decades.]
Under the new rule, the administration would be free to send families illegally taken to the border in a family residential center for as long as necessary for their immigration case to be settled. Officials said family cases could be resolved in three months, but many could last much longer.
Trump administration officials, who briefed reporters on Tuesday night under the guise of anonymity to discuss these plans, said that a large number of families would be detained until the end of the day. upon their release, after obtaining asylum or deportation to their country of origin. Some families could be granted parole, while the courts would decide their fate.
The 20-day time limit has been in effect since 2015, a legal extension of a 1997 court-ordered consent decree after an alleged class action lawsuit against physical and emotional harm to immigrant children detained for long periods of time. periods in detention centers.
Previous administrations have tried to change the rules governing the detention of children in order to reduce the number of migrants crossing the border. Trump's domestic security officials have repeatedly said that limiting the number of detentions of entire migrant families has led to the rise of Central American families who have crossed the border into the country. year.
Officials said Tuesday that the promulgation of the new regulation would send a powerful message: taking children to the United States was not "a passport" to be released from detention.
They predicted that this rule would result in a significant decrease in the number of families attempting to enter the United States illegally, which would reduce the need for more family-friendly housing centers.
The withdrawal of the consent decree was also a personal goal for Stephen Miller, architect of Mr. Trump's immigration policy. Delays in the development of the new regulations led Mr. Miller to deal with senior security officials who were removed from the department.
The New York Times reported in In April, Miller blamed Ronald D. Vitiello, former acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, for failing to comply with the new regulations. Mr. Vitiello subsequently withdrew his candidacy from Mr. Trump, who stated that he was not strong enough for the job.
The Flores colony was also at the origin of partisan debates on immigration. Democrats said the rules were imperative to ensure the well-being of child detainees, especially after children were placed in overcrowded cells and sometimes deprived of showers, toothpaste or hot meals.
In May, Mr. McAleenan told the Homeland Security Committee of the House of Representatives that the Flores settlement had motivated the migration to the United States, saying that "if an adult arrives with a child, he has a chance to stay in the United States.
Representative Bennie Thompson, Mississippi Democrat and Chair of the Committee, reminded Mr. McAleenan of the original purpose of the court ordered bylaws.
"It was the prolonged detention of children that had been detrimental to their health," Thompson said. "I think the court looked at it from that angle rather than a punitive decision of the department."
The Trump administration's regulation, which is several hundred pages long, eliminates the requirement for federal detention centers for immigrant families to obtain a license issued by the states, most of which do not have this license.
Under the regulations, the three centers built to accommodate hundreds of immigrant families – in Dilley and Karnes City, Texas, and Leesport, Pennsylvania – should meet the standards set by ICE, which manages them.
Administration officials insisted on Tuesday that the facilities were and would continue to be kept to high standards for immigrants who were detained there. They said the facilities provided superior health care, education and food.
But critics of the administration have long argued that the facilities did not allow children to be detained for long periods. And recent examples of the horrific conditions in the border patrol's overcrowded detention centers have heightened concerns about residential centers.
"We do not disagree with the detention of children when necessary – whether it is a risk of flight or danger to themselves or to others, we agree," he said. Peter Schey, a lawyer who has filed the original case and has continued to defend the terms of settlement in court since. "It is the unnecessary detention of children that this regulation was intended to put an end to. So these regulations really reflect a blatant disregard on the part of President Trump and his administration for the safety and well-being of the children entrusted to the federal government. "
Last summer, the Trump administration began separating children from their parents in order to bypass the Flores agreement. The children were placed under the care of the Department of Health and Human Services, while the adults were jailed pending a lawsuit for violation of immigration laws.
A fierce political reaction forced Mr Trump to publicly abandon the separation policy, although immigration advocates said some families continued to be separated after the announcement.
Officials said Tuesday that allowing families to be arrested indefinitely was an attempt to avoid having to separate families or release them, until their case was heard. .
Even before the final announcement of the final settlement on Wednesday, immigration advocates said it was a cruel effort to jail families – some with young children or young children – many of whom are fleeing violence and corruption in their home country.
According to the 1997 authorization decree, the regulation must be approved by the judge in the original case, Judge Dolly M. Gee of the United States District Court for the Central District of California. The government will have seven days to file a brief with its court to ask it to approve the settlement.
If it refuses, the administration should appeal its decision in a case that could last months or even years, legal experts said.
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