Immigrant Advocates Denounce Trump’s Illegal Attempt to Indefinitely Detain Vulnerable Families

August 21st, 2019

The Trump Administration Announces New Regulation to Dismantle the Flores Settlement Agreement

New York, NY– Today, the Trump administration announced its plan to repeal a longstanding legal agreement in order to indefinitely detain families seeking asylum. The Flores settlement agreement currently prohibits migrant children from being detained in federal custody for over 20 days, and the administration’s proposed regulation to eliminate the 20-day limit must be approved by a federal judge before going into effect.

In response, Steven Choi, Executive Director of the New York Immigration Coalition released the following statement: 

“Trump’s move to indefinitely detain families seeking asylum is a blatantly illegal and senselessly cruel attack pulled directly from Stephen Miller’s anti-immigrant, anti-family playbook. A cage is no place for infants and children—and too many families already know the fatal consequences of this administration’s failure to provide medical care to kids and their parents alike. Imprisoning families in an already overstressed system is downright dangerous and inhumane, and we expect our legal system to stop this illegal assault on vulnerable families.”