A Federal Judge Ruled late last week that the Trump Administration has been Violating a Decades-Old Court Agreement ensuring the Protection of Detained Migrant Children, ordering Administration Officials “to make every effort to promptly and safely release” the Thousands of Kids currently in Custody of the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) at Children’s Detention Facilities and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Migrant Family jails across the U.S.
U.S. District Judge, Dolly Gee, called on Officials to “make continuous efforts” to Release these Kids, but in this latest Order, said Officials aren’t acting Quickly enough amid a Pandemic. Gee quotes a Medical Expert from the Lawsuit, writing: “Postponing the release of children in facilities with known COVID-19 exposure is like leaving them in a burning house rather than going in to rescue them and take them to safety.”
Over the years and throughout Different Administrations, Gee has found that the Government has Violated Elements of the Settlement, primarily its Requirement that Migrant Children be Released from Custody without “Unnecessary Delay”. But Friday's Order considered the Risks faced by Immigrants Detained in Close Quarters during a Deadly, Global Pandemic. In a Different Order last month, Gee called Immigration Detention Centers “Hotbeds of Contagion” which Friday’s Ruling continued to Criticize for Ongoing Conditions.
”Defendants’ declarations thus paint a picture of sanitary, social-distance-compliant, and medically appropriate facilities—a picture tarnished by declarations of detainees and their legal services providers showing that ICE’s directives are not being properly implemented. As of April 21, 2020, detainees at all three [migrant family jails] report inaccessible or ineffective medical treatment, deteriorating health while in custody, insufficient soap and sanitation supplies, lack of thorough cleaning by staff, and insufficient use of PPE by staff or detainees.” Gee writes.
Gee notes that Detainees at the Migrant Family Jails Overseen by ICE “also report difficulty maintaining social distance. One detainee at Dilley reported mixing with the general population while exhibiting symptoms of COVID-19—symptoms severe enough that she was eventually tested, though test results are not yet available. Another at Berks describes that the only available hand soap leaves rashes and bumps and reports begging the staff to change the soap.”
Gee has overseen the 1997 Flores Agreement, which has Improved the Treatment of Migrant Children under U.S. watch, Prohibiting the Detention of Children for more than 20 days, “and, while they are detained, requires that they be treated with safety and dignity under basic standards of care,” immigrant rights advocacy group America’s Voice said. But in seeking to terminate these protections, the administration has referred to them as “loopholes.”
The need to get Children Out of Facilities and into Homes is Urgent, CBS News reports that nearly 60 Kids in ORR Custody have Tested Positive for COVID-19, while ICE has Reported at least 360 Confirmed Cases in its Facilities.
Gee also Ordered Two Court-Appointed Juvenile Coordinators to Submit to the Court Reports Detailing the Government's Compliance with the Court's Order and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Recommendations, including Plans to Identify and Protect Children at Higher Risk of Serious Illness from COVID-19, and Individualized Assessments of Children subject to Removal Orders.
"I think Judge Gee's order will result in an acceleration of the release of both accompanied and unaccompanied minors in the coming days and weeks as the judge made very clear the government's current policies are in breach of the settlement. The order will put pressure on them to not slow down their releases of children in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.” Said Peter Schey, an Attorney in the Litigation against the Administration.
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