The Biden administration’s revised rules on migrants seeking asylum at the southern border are facing their first legal challenge from lawyers representing children already in the U.S. who crossed into the country on their own.
On Friday, lawyers for migrant children argued in court in Los Angeles that the new order would provide fewer protections for their clients.
Lawyers argue that the new executive action should not supplant the decades-old Flores agreement.
The 1997 settlement agreement came after more than a decade of civil litigation accusing the U.S. government of mistreating migrant children throughout the 1980s.
The lawsuit alleges that the four teenagers, including 15-year-old Jenny Lysette Flores, were detained for long periods of time, often placed in rooms with strange adults and denied medical care or an education.
The number of unaccompanied minors arriving at the border has skyrocketed since 2014. Last year, the Border Patrol apprehended 130,000 migrant children.
The Biden administration argues the settlement is outdated and wants the court to throw out the agreement it reached with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
The health department notes that the new rules go beyond standards outlined in the settlement.
Child protection lawyers disagree, arguing that the federal government gives states control over local facilities that care for migrant minors and that the new rules don’t adequately address the needs of children with special needs.
Advocates argue that the Flores Agreement has been successful in keeping migrant children safe for years, and that any revisions to the agreement could be counterproductive.
Postwire Service
