Original Date Announced

DOJ filed a request to modify the settlement agreement in Flores v. Sessions. In the request, DOJ asked the court to grant limited emergency relief that would exempt DHS from the Flores Settlement Agreement's release provisions. DOJ asks the court to allow ICE to detain undocumented minors arriving with their parent or legal guardian in ICE family facilities, and to exempt ICE family facilities from the state licensure requirement of the Agreement.

[ID #170]

Subsequent Trump and Court Action

District Court Order

The district court denied the government's request to modify the settlement agreement. The government's appeals of this and related district court orders are pending at the Ninth Circuit as of 10/22/20. Ninth Circuit Case Nos. 20-55658, 20-55753.

**Litigation entries are limited to initial complaints and major substantive rulings. For pleadings and additional information, use name and docket number to search Civil Rights Clearinghouse and CourtListener or visit Just Security Litigation Tracker**

Subsequent Trump and Court Action

2018.07.30 Order re Plaintiffs' motion to enforce class action settlement

U.S. District Judge Dolly Gee found that conditions at the Shiloh Residential Treatment Center in Texas violated the Flores Settlement. She ordered the Trump administration to remove all noncitizen children out of the facility and ordered the administration to get parental consent or a court order before giving children psychotic drugs. She further ordered that the government must explain in writing why a child is being detained and that it cannot detain a minor only for "reported gang involvement."

*see litigation note above*

Subsequent Trump and Court Action

2018.10.05 Order appointing special master

The court appointed a special master/independent monitor to determine the government's compliance with the court orders and the Flores Settlement.

*see litigation note above*

Subsequent Trump and Court Action

2019.09.27 Fores v. Barr permanent injunction

Judge Gee issued a permanent injunction which blocked the government from imlementing regulations what would have expanded its ability to detain noncitizen children for indefinite periods. This litigation was under the name of Flores v. Barr.

*see litigation note above*

Subsequent Trump and Court Action

Documents Relating to Flores v. Reno Settlement Agreement on Minors in Immigration Custody

Judge Gee ordered that children currently held in ICE Family REsidential Centers for more than 20 days be released by July 17, 2020 due to COVID-19.

*see litigation note above*

Subsequent Trump and Court Action

Documents Relating to Flores v. Reno Settlement Agreement on Minors in Immigration Custody

A court found that the government was subject to the Flores Settlement Agreement when placing noncitizen children in hotels for longer than 72 hours.

*see litigation note above*

Subsequent Trump and Court Action

2021.08.09 Motion to enforce settlement re emergency intake sites

The National Center for Youth Law filed a motion to enforce the Settlement Agreement at Emergency Intake Sites. This litigation is titled Flores v. Garland.

*see litigation note above*

Subsequent Trump and Court Action

2022.05.21 joint motion for preliminary approval of settlement

The parties submitted a motion for preliminary approval of a settlement where border patrol facilities in the Rio Grande Valley and El Paso agreed that minors will not be separated from their families and will be provided with sanitary conditions and medical evaluations and treatment.

*see litigation note above*

Subsequent Trump and Court Action

2022.07.29 Final approval of settlement agreement

Judge Gee granted final approval to the settlement agreement in relation to rio Grande Valley and El Paso Sectors CBP facilities.

*see litigation note above*

Subsequent Trump and Court Action

2022.09.23 Final approval of settlement agreement

Judge Gee approved the party's settlement agreement concerning Emergency Intake Sites.

*see litigation note above*

Subsequent Trump and Court Action

2024.02.29 Motion to enforce settlement re open-air detention sites

The National Center for Youth Law and Children's Rights filed a motion to enforce the Settlement Agreement. They requested that the courts order CBP to stop detaining children in open-air detention cites along the border. This litigation is titled Flores v. Garland.

*see litigation note above*

Subsequent Trump and Court Action

2024.04.03 Granting motion to enforce settlement agreement

Judge Gee granted in part the motion to enforce the Settlement Agreement, finding that conditions at the open-air detention sites did not meet the "safe and sanitary" standards of the agreement.

*see litigation note above*

Subsequent Trump and Court Action

2025.01.30 Flores v. McHenry, No. CV 85-4544-DMG (C.D. Cal.) - Order

The District Court modified a 2022 Settlement clarifying CBP's obligations under the original Flores Settlement Agreement. The court ordered the extension of (1) the Juvenile Care Monitor's (JCM) term for another six months, until June 27, 2025, with the option for further extensions due to lack of substantial compliance; and (2) the 2022 Settlement for 18 months, from January 2025 until July 29, 2026. Flores v. McHenry, No. CV-85-4544-DMG (C.D. Cal.).

**Litigation entries are limited to initial complaints and major substantive rulings. For pleadings and additional information, use name and docket number to search Civil Rights Clearinghouse and CourtListener or visit Just Security Litigation Tracker**

Subsequent Trump and Court Action

2025.02.28 Reported: US Tent Facility is Holding Migrant Families Longer Than Recommended - CBP

Bloomberg reports that CBP is holding migrant families with children at a tent facility in Otay Mesa, CA, for longer than agency guidelines permit. "Some families have been held for 10 days or more at [the] soft-sided facility," despite CBP guidelines stating "that people should not be held in such spaces longer than 72 hours" and noting "special care should be taken for families and unaccompanied children."

*Please see this entry for updates related to this memo.*