"In 1997 as a result of a class action lawsuit on behalf of immigrant children who had been detained by the former Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) challenging procedures regarding the detention, treatment, and release of children, the Flores Settlement Agreement became law.
[i]n.b.[/i] This agrrement only addressed unaccompanied illegal-immigrant children - NOT FAMILIES.
The Flores Settlement Agreement (Flores) imposed several obligations on the immigration authorities, which fall into three broad categories:
1.The government is required to release children from immigration detention without unnecessary delay to, in order of preference, parents, other adult relatives, or licensed programs willing to accept custody.
2.If a suitable placement is not immediately available, the government is obligated to place children in the “least restrictive” setting appropriate to their age and any special needs.
3. The government must implement standards relating to the care and treatment of children in immigration detention.
On July 6, 2016 the Ninth Circuit held that the Flores settlement agreement applies both to minors who are accompanied and unaccompanied by their parents, and that the lower court correctly refused to amend the agreement to accommodate family detention. ]
Back to the story:
The 9th Circuit’s ruling in 2016 meant the government would now have to separate families if it held parents who crossed the border illegally." ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Apparently Mark missed or ignored Don Diego's previous posting concerning this matter. Following the laws of this nation are, apparently, difficult for some to comprehend.
