Judge Orders Compliance with Flores Settlement by Oct. 23
United States District Court judge Dolly Gee ordered the Department of Homeland Security and other federal defendants to comply with the Settlement Agreement in Flores v. Lynch by October 23, 2015. The 1997 Flores Settlement Agreement establishes requirements for the release of minors who have been detained by immigration officials and specifies the types of facilities in which minors who have not been released can be held.
In July the judge ruled that the Flores Settlement Agreement applied to accompanied children who were arrested with a parent, as well as to unaccompanied children. She also issued an order to show cause why a remedial order should not be entered. On August 21 she rejected the Defendants objections and ordered them to comply with specific provisions of the agreement, to monitor compliance, and to provide Plaintiffs’ counsel with monthly data reports that include demographic, detention, release and disposition information about detained minors. The New York Times has been following this case and reported on the order.